Canadian PM to meet Bush this month

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2004

TORONTO (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said he would meet President George W. Bush this month, in what is being seen as a bid to patch up US-Canadian relations bruised by disagreements over Iraq.

"We will be meeting somewhere near the end of the month," Martin told reporters, during a campaign stop in Burlington, Ontario.

Martin last year took over from former prime minister Jean Chretien, who enjoyed a cool relationship with Bush.

He had his first official talks with the US leader on the sidelines of a summit of countries of the Americas in Monterey, Mexico in January and has pledged to improve ties between Ottawa and Washington.

But his drive is seen as a calculated risk, so close to a general election expected within months, as Bush...