Bush wants to avoid "fist fights" in Europe

It will be his first trip to Europe since the Iraq war and the bitter trans-Atlantic debate that preceded it.

On the eve of his departure he said he wanted to set aside US "frustration and disappointment" over French opposition to the Iraq war during his Europe trip.

The president will make his first stop in Poland where he will deliver a key speech on the future of transatlantic relations.

The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says it is the most ambitious diplomatic adventure the president has ever undertaken.

It will begin in a very pointed way with Mr Bush choosing to visit Poland to thank the Polish Government for its support in Iraq.

The president will use his stopover in a part of the world his defence secretary calls "new Europe" to deliver a speech setting out his view of the future of transatlantic relations.

'Frustration with France'

From there he goes to Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg, and to join in ceremonies marking the historic city's 300th anniversary.

Mr Bush will then head to Evian in France for the G8 summit of leading industrialised nations.

At Evian, President Bush will be grouped with the main opponents of the Iraq war - French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Putin.

In an interview with foreign journalists Thursday, President Bush insisted the Evian summit would not be a "confrontational meeting".

"It's an opportunity to talk with some who agreed with us on Iraq, and some who didn't, about how we move forward," he said.

But he also made clear his continued annoyance at President Chirac for leading opposition to a UN Security Council resolution that would have authorised military force against Iraq.

"There is a sense of frustration and disappointment amongst the American people toward the French decision. That's realistic.

"People didn't understand the decisions by the French leadership to thwart the American desire and the desire of others to work on security and freedom," he said.

Iraq row 'on one side'

But President Bush said this would not influence his policy and he looked forward to talking to Mr Chirac, as well as others who had agreed with US policy on Iraq.

He will have face-to-face encounters with President Chirac and Chancellor Schroeder.

Our Washington correspondent says the official White House view is that the row over Iraq will be put to one side.

Mr Bush is reported to have told a German delegation that there will "not be a fist fight".