WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- Spain's Defense Minister Jose Bono Monday started his four-day U.S. reconciliation visit by meeting with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Bono was also scheduled to tour New York and naval bases in Virginia and Florida, El Mundo newspaper reported Monday.
Advertisement
The minister's visit is seen as an effort by Spain to mend relations soured after Spain pulled its troops from Iraq.
Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero campaigned on a promise to pull Spain's troops from Iraq, winning a surprise victory in March elections.
His victory came just three days after the March 11, 2004 train bombing in Madrid that killed 191 people and was attributed to a group linked with al-Qaida.
