Former South African leader Nelson Mandela telephoned US President George W. Bush yesterday, taking a step toward improving relations frayed by disagreements over the war in Iraq.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush "welcomed a call" from the 85-year-old anti-apartheid icon while vacationing on his Crawford, Texas ranch.
Their discussion focused in part on the need to fight AIDS in Africa, McClellan said.
Mandela, a universally respected figure in world affairs, has praised Bush's commitment to funding AIDS research and treatment and has urged Europe to follow Washington's lead.
In May, Bush signed into law a $15 billion plan to help combat the deadly disease in Africa and the Caribbean, trebling US spending over five years.
Tensions between Bush and Mandela erupted over the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Mandela was one of the bluntest critics of the Iraq war and repeatedly attacked the US president as a threat to world peace and a leader who "cannot think properly."
Mandela was on an overseas trip last month and therefore did not meet with Bush during the American president's visit to South Africa.
