By Jeremy Pelofsky PARIS, June 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush heads for the United Kingdom on Sunday as his final stop on a European farewell tour, having won support on the continent for a ratcheting-up of pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. With much of Europe still smarting over the U.S.-led war in Iraq, Bush has spent much of his trip trying to forge a united front to press Tehran to suspend its enrichment of uranium, which can produce fissile material for nuclear bombs. There have been only muted anti-Bush protests, in contrast to the big rallies that marred his previous visits. He was warmly greeted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Silvo Berlusconi and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Germany, Italy and France all offered support for efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and Merkel went a step further, backing more sanctions on Tehran if it refuses their latest request that it stop enrichment. "Much of my discussions on this trip have been dominated by this subject because our allies understand that a nuclear-armed Iran is incredibly destabilising, and they understand that it would be a major blow to world peace," Bush said on Saturday. White House officials have described discussions about trade, climate change and other issues as productive but announced no new breakthroughs or major initiatives. Bush and his wife Laura will spend Sunday afternoon meeting Queen Elizabeth II and receiving a tour of Windsor Castle before attending a dinner in London with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and holding talks with him on Monday. BUSH AND BROWN Bush has a more formal relationship with Brown than he had with his predecessor Tony Blair, Washington's staunchest ally in the Iraq war. Both Bush and Brown are struggling in opinion polls, and face criticism over Iraq and economic troubles. When Brown visited Washington in April he caused a stir by meeting the 2008 presidential candidates before Bush, a sign of how leaders are increasingly looking towards a new president. But White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the two men still had a lot to discuss. "There is long list of issues, such as Iran's defiance of the international community, the need to address climate change and energy security, fostering Middle East peace, helping the people of Africa and defeating extremists in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world," he said. Like other European countries, Britain has been hit by fuel price protests and there is growing pressure on Brown to take action to limit the rise in energy costs. Brown has agreed to attend a meeting on June 22 called by Saudi Arabia aimed at trying to address soaring prices. Bush has said he will send a high-level U.S. official. Bush will see his old friend Blair, now the representative of the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators. The president has been pushing to reach a framework deal on a Palestinian state before he leaves office in January 2009. He is expected to travel to Northern Ireland on Monday after meeting Brown before returning to Washington in the evening. (Additional reporting by David Clarke in London; editing by Andrew Roche)
Palestinian policemen loyal to Hamas take part in a training exercise in Gaza June 14, 2008. A year after Hamas routed its Fatah rivals and wrested control of Gaza, Palestinians are ...
