MAINZ, Germany — President Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday played down their differences over an array of international problems and instead stressed their common objectives in preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, helping rebuild Iraq and developing technologies to combat global warming.
"We have agreed that we are not going to constantly emphasize where we're not agreeing. But we want to focus on where we do agree," Schroeder said after an hourlong meeting with Bush, their first in a year. The leaders had what the chancellor described as "a very, very intense discussion" that "basically covered each and every subject that is a high-ranking one on the international political agenda today."
Bush was equally determined to dwell on the positive. During their news conference, he called Germany "a partner in peace and a partner in freedom and a partner of doing our duty."
Still, it was far from clear that tangible progress would result from the Bush-Schroeder meeting, their warmest since a rift in 2002 over the Iraq war. Both men professed that those days were gone.
On Iran, Bush softened his tone, saying that he appreciated efforts by Germany, France and Britain to negotiate with Iran in hopes of reaching an agreement that would allow Tehran to have a civilian nuclear energy program and other economic benefits in exchange for a pledge to renounce its purported quest for atomic weapons. Previously, the Bush administration was lukewarm, at best, toward those talks, saying that it opposed dangling carrots before Tehran.
"I think there's a convergence on the importance of us being clear on the goals and wanting to make sure that the three countries, in discussion with Iran and the United States, really have a clear understanding of what the goals are and share them," said Stephen J. Hadley, the president's national security advisor. "And I think that's an accomplishment here."
Another senior U.S. official acknowledged Bush's shift in tone. "Last fall, we were yelling at each other," he said.
"We've just started the diplomatic efforts," Bush said here. "We will work with [the Europeans] to convince the mullahs that they need to give up their nuclear ambitions." But Bush did not specify how the U.S. would do so.
"There was a lot of discussion about where we go from here," Hadley said. "And the president has really got to go back and think about it, quite frankly."
