President George Bush has vowed this evening to pursue the goal of a lasting resolution between the Israelis and the Palestinians in a speech delivered at the start of a five-day visit to Europe.
Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to welcome Mr Bush's commitment to finding a settlement for the troubled region when the pair share breakfast in Brussels tomorrow.
But healing rifts with other EU leaders over war in Iraq is the key aim of the US President's visit to the continent. Mr Bush delivered an impassioned call for "a new era of transatlantic unity" at the start of his five-day tour.
"No temporary debate, no passing disagreement of governments, no power on earth will ever divide us," he said. The President also devoted much of his speech to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying both the US and Europe were determined to see two democratic states living side by side.
"Our greatest opportunity, and our immediate goal, is peace in the Middle East." The speech was followed by a dinner date with French President Jacques Chirac, previously reviled in Washington for leading opposition to the invasion of Iraq.
Mr Bush will have a similar meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who also opposed the war, on Wednesday. They, in common with other European leaders, appear as keen to make up as the President.
However, differences on major issues such as EU plans to lift an arms embargo on China, tackling Iran's nuclear programme, the future of Nato and the Kyoto Treaty on climate change remain.
Mr Bush opposes lifting the arms embargo amid US fears that America may one day have to come to the aid of Taiwan. However Mr Peter Mandelson, Britain's EU commissioner, said Europe should press ahead.
The former Cabinet minister warned: "The (US) administration would be wrong to pick a fight with Europe over this which it can't actually win." Mr Blair and Mr Bush are expected to steer clear of such controversial matters when they meet, focusing instead on the Middle East and Iraq.
Mr Blair is keen to keep up momentum ahead of next week's London conference which aims to help Palestinians prepare for their own state. The President goes on to meet with NATO leaders before holding talks with all 25 EU leaders, largely the same people. Mr Blair is hoping the trans-Atlantic alliance will offer more assistance in preparing Iraqi security forces to assume full responsibility.
Nato's role is a potential source of friction after Chancellor Schroeder suggested the organisation was no longer the "primary venue" for US-European dialogue.
Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who holds a press conference with the President tomorrow, has said he wants reassurance that Washington does not agree. However, Mr Bush may opt to leave that issue for private discussion with the German leader over dinner in Mainz.
The President is expected to speak for around half an hour at his meeting with the 25 EU leaders in the Justus Lipsius building.
Eleven of them have been nominated to address him on specific issues, probably for no more than five minutes each. Mr Blair will deliver a commentary on the Middle East while it falls to Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda to tackle Iraq.
Agencies