GERMANY: Dr Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, arrives in Berlin this afternoon to deliver the antidote to the bilateral relations she famously described as "poisoned" by the Iraq war.
Her visit comes as German officials said last night that Berlin might be prepared to increase its involvement in Iraq and help build up new government ministries.
Dr Rice's whistle-stop tour will also take her to London this morning (for breakfast with Mr Tony Blair), Warsaw and Paris, and, in between, to Jerusalem.
She told the US Senate during her confirmation hearing that she would use her first trip as Secretary of State to "unite this important alliance behind the kind of great goals that we have".
She will hold talks with the German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder, in preparation for the visit later this month of President Bush.
The White House has reviewed its attitude to the so-called "non-nyet-nein" axis and decided that the time to ignore Germany has passed.
President Bush surprised the German interior minister, Mr Otto Schily, during his White House visit on Wednesday by dropping in for a 25-minute chat.
Government sources said Mr Bush praised Mr Schily for his engagement in the fight against terrorism since the September 11th attacks, planned in Hamburg. Mr Schily could barely contain his glee yesterday.
"It's not an honour bestowed on every interior minister," he is reported as saying afterwards.
Top of the agenda of Dr Rice's meeting with Mr Schröder will be diplomatic efforts by Germany, France and Britain to persuade Iran to give up its suspected nuclear arms programme.
Dr Rice said in an interview on Tuesday that the US appreciates the European effort to reach a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but did not want to rule out other options.
Mr Schröder is expected to reiterate his opposition to sending German troops to Iraq.
However, he may expand on Mr Schily's suggestion that Germany could help build up the Iraqi interior and justice ministries and send experts to help draft a new Iraqi constitution.