Tuesday, July 11 2006 14:43 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to use the upcoming Germany visit of US President George W. Bush to cement an improvement in relations following the bitter transatlantic row following ex-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Iraq war opposition.

Bush and Merkel are scheduled to meet July 13 in the city of Stralsund in the chancellor's home state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.

Officials say the trip is meant to elevate personal relations between Bush and Merkel, whom the US leader has assiduously cultivated following his barely concealed glee over Schroeder's defeat last year.

Schroeder led European opposition to the Iraq war and bashed Bush and the US to win re-election in 2002- a move that plunged German-US ties into their worst crisis since the end of World War II in 1945. The head of Berlin's American Academy think-tank, Gary Smith - often dubbed as US' secret ambassador to Germany said he was stunned at how swiftly Merkel and Bush had repaired the damage.

"It's quite amazing to think how things are now and where they were just two years ago," said Smith.

"We are seeing once again that personal relations play a big role in diplomacy. We saw how destructive they can be and now how constructive they can be," he said. German officials agree and are putting out an upbeat message in the run-up to the Bush-Merkel summit.

"She's turned things around 180 degrees," an official said.

"Bush refused to talk to Schroeder for an entire year during the Iraq crisis. Merkel can pick up the phone and be put through to Bush on almost any issue," he said. Officials say Germany's voice is again being heard in Washington and they point to the US policy shift on Iran as evidence of this. Bush recently ended a quarter century of refusing to talk to Iran with an offer of dialogue in a bid to defuse the crisis over the country's nuclear programme.

Germany has long been calling for such a move. Together with France and Britain, Germany makes up the so-called EU trio (EU3), seeking a deal on Iran's nuclear programme. "Germany has been the driving force in the EU3 and that's why President Bush has been so committed to Germany and insisted on including Berlin in talks even though they are not a permanent member of the UN Security Council," said Smith.

Apart from Iran, other issues to be discussed by Bush and Merkel include Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and energy security. Away from high politics, German officials are making great efforts to ensure Bush's visit sends out powerful symbolic messages.

Merkel is taking Bush to her election district deep in former East Germany, with planned visits in Stralsund and a nearby village, Trinwillershagen, which used to be home to the model communist collective farm 'LPG Red Banner'. Stralsund, a medieval Baltic Sea port city, has a stunning historic centre dating back to the 13th century. Merkel plans to steer the born-again Christian Bush to the red-brick church of St. Nicholas, which dominates the city's skyline.

In Trinwillershagen, a German-Texas fusion barbecue featuring wild boar and venison is planned at the site of the defunct collective farm whose last prominent visitor was former communist East German leader Walter Ulbricht back in the 1960s. Officials say that bringing Bush to Trinwillershagen is meant to underline the long march toward freedom and democracy as well as Merkel's biography as a former East German scientist turned politician after the collapse of communism.

"It was very wise for Chancellor Merkel to underscore her personal biography because this resonated in the White House," said Smith. Bush is spending two nights in Germany in order to have an entire day with Merkel. This is viewed as a significant gesture by Berlin, given that the US leader is better known for brief stopovers when travelling abroad. Smith said the close personal ties between Bush and Merkel were genuine.

"The chemistry is there," he stressed.