Blair to Visit US to Maintain Good RelationsBritish Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday that he would travel to Washington to meet United States President-elect George W. Bush in the coming months."It is more likely that I will go over there in the next few months," Blair told BBC television when asked about his possibility of visiting the U.S. and meeting the new president. He said that Bush would probably not come to Britain in the near future. It was his job and duty to maintain good relations with the U.S., regardless of who steers the country -- Democrats or Republicans, he added. He fended off allegations by the press that the traditionally close ties between London and Washington would be compromised as a result of the change of power at the White House, calling the charges "absolute nonsense." Blair said that he had established "a very good relationship with President Bill Clinton," who shared the British prime minister's vision of a "third way" between socialism and the free market. Last month, Clinton paid a particularly emotional farewell visit to Dublin, Belfast and London, during which Blair paid him special homage. |
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