Leader, U.S. president could get together in November

By LAURENCE ILIFF / The Dallas Morning News

MEXICO CITY – Amid strained U.S.-Mexico relations over the war with Iraq, the Mexican government said Tuesday that President Vicente Fox and President
Bush are likely to meet here in early November.

The announcement came after a lunch meeting between Mr. Fox and former President George Bush.

During that meeting, the former president said his son maintains a close personal friendship with Mr. Fox, said Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez.

"Basically, in the conversations [between the elder Mr. Bush and his son] what he can tell us is that there is a profound fondness between the two – President Fox
and President Bush – that continues," Mr. Derbez said.

Neither Mr. Fox nor the elder Mr. Bush commented after their lunch meeting.

As to the likelihood of a November meeting between the two presidents, a White House spokeswoman said: "The White House has made no announcement about
that." A State Department official had no comment.

Mr. Derbez, who briefed the media on the Tuesday lunch, said that the elder Mr. Bush did not come to Mexico as a emissary for his son but rather to discuss
economic issues and because he, too, is a friend of Mr. Fox.

Mr. Bush was visiting Mexico at the invitation of businessmen here and asked for a meeting with Mr. Fox "because they are longtime friends, and [Mr. Bush] simply
wanted to exchange notes with us," Mr. Derbez said.

A meeting in November between Mr. Fox and President Bush may not be the only one this year, Mr. Derbez said.

The two men will probably meet during the Group of Eight meeting in France June 1-3, but only informally, he said.

The likely meeting in November, a Mexican official said, would be part of an interim Summit of the Americas expected to draw leaders from throughout the
hemisphere to promote economic integration and security.

Additionally, "the two sides are working toward scheduling a [separate] bilateral reunion where the two men can preside," said the official, speaking on the condition
of anonymity. "At this point all of this is under discussion. No dates have been set."

Mr. Fox has canceled four trips to Texas in the last year, including an invitation to President Bush's ranch near Crawford.

The once vibrant friendship between the two, dubbed "los dos amigos," appeared to grow more distant over a number of issues, from border water to capital
punishment, but especially after Mr. Fox came out strongly against the war with Iraq.

Staff writer Alfredo Corchado in Mexico City contributed to this report.