Posted on 03/18/2004 3:02:34 PM PST by MegaSilver
US President George W Bush used a St Patrick's Day ceremony in Washington to announce that he'll visit Ireland in June for a European Union summit.
In an annual White House ceremony on Wednesday, Bush and First Lady Laura were presented with a bowl of shamrocks by Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern.
Bush and Ahern expressed unity in the fight against terrorism as they remembered the victims of last week's bombings in Madrid.
Abiding friendship
Ahern said the ceremony was a reminder of "the close and abiding friendship that has existed" between the two nations for centuries.
He said "Europe and the United States share a common determination to overcome the evils of terrorism".
Welcoming the Irish Prime Minister to the White House, Bush said St Patrick's Day had always been a happy one for Americans.
US-EU summit
The president said he would travel to Ireland in June and said the US-EU meeting would "strengthen the essential partnership" between the United States and Europe.
But those bonds have been strained by sharp differences over the US-led war in Iraq.
Plea for peace
Bush also said he and Ahern shared a common vision for a lasting peace for the people of Northern Ireland "free of terror and intimidation".
He called for an end to all political violence, insisting there was "no place for paramilitaries in a democratic society". (AP)
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