President Bush will visit NATO and the European Union on Feb. 22 in a move to rebuild transatlantic relations at the start of his second term, European NATO diplomats said on Thursday. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is in Brussels for a NATO foreign ministers' meeting, said on Wednesday that Bush planned to make the first overseas visit after his inauguration next month to Europe but gave no date. "We are reaching out to Europe and we hope that Europe will reach out to us," he said in a public lecture, appealing for more European help to stabilize Iraq and Afghanistan
A NATO official said it was too early to say whether the visit would be billed as a fully-fledged summit. "All I can confirm is that President Bush has stated his intention to come. I would expect a summit but I would have to wait to confirm that," said the official, who declined to be identified. The NATO session on Thursday is expected to be the last attended by Powell before he hands over to successor Condoleezza Rice. |