Ashcroft did not appear at news conference with French minister

France and the United States have agreed to work together on new anti-terrorism techniques, heralding a thaw in the frosty relations that developed during the Iraq crisis.

A Franco-US working group will develop biometric techniques such as fingerprints and iris scanning - seen as a vital tool in the fight against criminal and terrorist gangs.

The announcement came during a meeting of Group of Eight justice and interior ministers in Paris which is being attended by US Attorney General John Ashcroft, the most senior US official to visit France since the acrimony over Iraq erupted.

France vehemently opposed the US-led war against Iraq, which Washington pursued without the backing of the United Nations Security Council.

'No impact'

The French Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, said that the bitter dispute over Iraq could not jeopardise the security partnership with Washington.

In spite of the elimination of most of its bases in Afghanistan, it seems [al-Qaeda] camps have been reactivated in other areas G8 ministers' statement

"French-American co-operation never stopped, because it concerns the security of our citizens," he said at a post-meeting news conference in Paris.

"Those disagreements [over Iraq] are real but that does not necessitate discord in the fight against terrorism."

However, Mr Ashcroft's failure to join Mr Sarkozy as scheduled at the news conference suggests relations are not fully back on track, correspondents say.

According to the French news agency, AFP, officials at the meeting said US President George W Bush had told Mr Ashcroft not to appear.

War on terror

The meeting is a prelude to a G8 summit set for 1-3 June in the French spa town of Evian.

The G8 embraces Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United States and Russia.

The methods to be developed by French and US experts will allow data from iris scans and other unfalsifiable facial features to be put on to identity documents.

The ministers also discussed ways to identify and freeze the funds of terrorist or criminal groups, protect sensitive computer data and share DNA information among police forces.

In a joint statement after the meeting, G8 ministers said terrorism remained a serious threat and warned that biological, chemical or nuclear weapons could be used in future attacks.

Al-Qaeda threat

The ministers pledged to strengthen co-operation between their police forces and intelligence services.

They also warned that although al-Qaeda had been "shaken" by recent arrests, it was still operating with sleeper cells and individuals agents who "are ready to act".

"The threat from the al-Qaeda network remains serious," the statement said.

"In spite of the elimination of most of its bases in Afghanistan, it seems that other camps have been reactivated in other areas."

Mr Sarkozy went on to say it was thought al-Qaeda had set up new operational bases in the former Soviet republics of Chechnya and Georgia.

"We don't expect to lower our guard for a long time," he said. "All the G8 countries have a similar analysis; the terrorist threat is real, it's still present and apparently, alas, for a long time to come."