The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has called for a ‘new chapter’ in the transatlantic alliance in her first major foreign policy speech.
Ms Rice was speaking at a university in Paris as part of her current eight-nation tour Europe and the Middle East.
The tour is seen as an effort to try to repair the damage done by divisions over the war in Iraq.
Ms Rice said that it was time to end past disagreements.
She also said that today's successful summit on the Middle East gave Israelis and Palestinians the best chance for peace that they will see for years, but warned that there were still deep divisions to overcome.
Earlier today, she met the Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini.
An outbreak of influenza had brought changes to her schedule in Italy, forcing both Pope John Paul and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to cancel their meetings with her.
The Pope was rushed to hospital last week suffering severe breathing problems brought on by a bout of the flu. Now Mr Berlusconi has also fallen ill.
Mr Berlusconi's spokesman said in a statement that doctors had advised the prime minister to spend at least two days in bed.
