Paris: France and Germany took a step toward mending fences by jointly opposing a US attack on Iraq, as Jacques Chirac met Gerhard Schroeder for the first time since Schroeder's re-election.

The leaders, whose relations have been stormy since an EU summit in France two years ago, met for dinner in Paris late on October 2 and found some common ground against a new UN resolution, demanded by the United States, that would threaten Iraq with war.

"We are totally hostile to a resolution now which is based on making military intervention automatic," Chirac said with Schroeder at his side after dinner at the French Presidential palace.

"The French and German approach is the same," Chirac said.

Trailing in the polls, Schroeder salvaged his re-election campaign in September by announcing that Berlin would not back any attack on Iraq, even with the support of the UN Security Council.

The move alienated Washington and also further frayed relations with Paris, which said it would support military action backed by the Council, and has pushed hard for Europe to have a unified voice on foreign policy.

Chirac indicated a shift in Berlin's position on October 2, saying France "reaffirms, as does Germany, that the only authority which can decide on military action is the Security Council."

The German chancellor said he was "happy at France's understanding" but added that the German position "will not change".

France and Germany have been at odds since an ill-tempered EU summit in the French city of Nice in 2000, when Germany muscled its way into greater decision-making power in Brussels.

Though the two men have been holding regular informal dinners for more than a year, relations have continued to sour over the Iraq crisis and the planned enlargement of the European Union.