Bonding: Chirac liked the cheeseburgers (top) and First Dog Barney (above with President Bush) made Schroeder laugh

Sea Island (Georgia), June 11 (Reuters): French President Jacques Chirac praised American cuisine and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was amused by the US first dog as the two leaders visited a balmy beach resort in Georgia this week.

Hosting the three-day summit of the Group of Eight major industrial nations was a chance for US President George W. Bush to soothe divisions over the Iraq war that France and Germany vocally opposed.

Publicly at least, there was a show of cordiality. “We had our differences in the past year but we’re friends and friends are able to discuss the future,” Bush said after meeting Chirac yesterday morning at the resort of Sea Island, Georgia.

They still had differences, notably over Bush’s proposal for a Nato role in Iraq in the future. Chirac believes it would be “clumsy to fly the Nato flag” there, according to a French official.

But the balmy scene at Sea Island also produced some amiable pleasantries.

Bush said he ate “superb” food when he went to France last weekend for Sunday’s ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy during World War II. “Over the last few days, this cuisine here in America was certainly on a par with French cuisine,” Chirac responded manfully. “He particularly liked the cheeseburger he had yesterday,” said Bush. “It was excellent,” agreed Chirac.

A senior US official said after Bush’s talks with Schroeder on Tuesday that it was “the most cordial meeting between the two since the beginning of the war in Iraq.” The official picture showed the two smiling, with Bush’s dog Barney trotting alongside. According to Schroeder, Barney made them laugh.

French officials have praised US flexibility as Washington pushed for Tuesday’s UN Security Resolution on Iraq’s future. Schroeder said yesterday that concessions from the US had allowed for agreement on Iraq and development in West Asia.

The G8 agreed on an initiative for reform in the broad West Asia, with Washington altering its original plan to take into account concerns of Arab and European countries. But Schroeder said neither the UN resolution nor summit agreement would result in early solutions. “As far as that is concerned, I don’t tend towards optimism. I believe this will be a very long road.”