Spanish foreign affairs minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, has reportedly agreed a meeting with his US counterpart, Condoleeza Rice, in Washington in the spring. His agenda will be to "advance the bilateral and regional agenda." They met briefly yesterday during a working lunch in Brussels where they were attending a NATO meeting of foreign affairs ministers.

Mr Moratinos was reluctant to commit to being able to organise a meeting between presidents Bush and Zapatero, but said that his conversation with Ms Rice had been "cordial and natural."

Relations between the two countries were damaged when president Zapatero announced the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq almost immediately after winning the general election last March.