PARIS, Feb. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- French President Jacques Chirac will meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice next Tuesday at the presidential palace in Paris, the president's office said on Friday.

    Rice is also expected to make a speech on US-EU relations during her stay in Paris, the office added.

    The scheduled visit is part of a week-long tour of Europe and the Middle East, Rice's first overseas trip as the US secretary of state in a bid to repair relations with key American allies after the divisions over Iraq.

    Chirac led the opposition to the Iraq war that left trans-Atlantic ties frayed, and France is pressing for a withdrawal of foreign troops in the country as soon as possible and a role in Iraq's reconstruction.

    Rice's whistle-stop tour, ahead of US President George W. Bush's visit to Europe later this month, is scheduled to include eight European capitals and the Vatican, with a weekend side trip to seethe Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Enditem