The Associated Press
Thursday, May 4, 2006; 3:56 AM
WASHINGTON -- In their second meeting at the White House, President Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to keep pressing Iran on its nuclear program as other allies took the issue to the United Nations.
"We will continue to consult with our partners as to how to achieve a diplomatic solution to this issue." Bush said after his Oval Office meetings with Merkel on Wednesday.
"Under no circumstances must Iran be allowed to come into possession of nuclear weapons," Merkel said.
Merkel was going to New York on Thursday for a meeting with business leaders. She was to return to Washington later Thursday to address the American Jewish Committee's gala marking the organization's 100th anniversary. No other German chancellor has addressed the AJC.
Her comments with Bush on Wednesday came as Britain and France introduced a U.N. Security Council resolution, with U.S. and German backing, that would be legally binding and set the stage for sanctions against Iran if it does not abandon uranium enrichment.
Russia and China, permanent members of the Security Council with veto power, oppose sanctions against Iran, while Britain, France, Germany and the United States say they will seek to make the demand on uranium enrichment compulsory.
Iran, meanwhile, continued to publicize the nuclear weapons work it insists it's doing to produce energy, not weapons.
The resolution asserts that Iran "shall suspend all enrichment related and reprocessing activities," according to the text presented to the council.
Bush also announced that he would be traveling to Germany in July as part of a trip to Europe for the Group of Eight summit in Russia.
This was Merkel's second visit with Bush in four months. Other issues on their agenda were Iraq, trade, the Middle East, Darfur peace talks, Merkel's scheduled visit to China next month and the G-8 summit.
Merkel and Bush had a friendly meeting during the chancellor's first trip in January, despite her criticism of the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It was a sharp contrast to the chill that existed between Bush and Merkel's predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, who was a vigorous critic of the war in Iraq.