French President Jacques Chirac said Wednesday that he had never been angry with his American counterpart despite their differences on Iraq.

"I have never been angry with US president and I have never felt in my relations with him that he had been angry with me," Chirac told a joint press conference with visiting Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, whose country currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency.

He acknowledged some differences of view with Bush. "It's normal, everyone holds his own conviction, I did it without any aggression," he said.

Chirac said he would be glad to express the strong gratitude of the French people and European people on the occasion of the 60 anniversary of the D-Day landing in Normandy on June 6 to the Americans who came in a critical moment to help Europe and France.

Bush also tried to clear up differences between Washington and Paris over the Iraqi war. In an interview to the French magazine Paris Match to be published on Thursday, he called the French president his "friend" and France "an ally."

"I have never been angry with the French. France has long been an ally," he said.

Bush will arrive in France on the weekend for the 60th anniversary ceremonies of the D-Day landings in Normandy that will group 15 heads of state and government.

To the question whether he would invite the French president to his ranch in his home state of Texas, Bush said in a laugh: "If he wants to come to see some cows, he's welcome. He can come and see the cows."

Source: Xinhua