US president, George W Bush, urged the NATO allies to ditch cold war thinking and support his controversial missile defence system.

At his first NATO summit, Bush appealed for support and trust but asserted his determination to proceed with the missile defence scheme regardless of European support.

No European country has yet given the project support, France and Germany have strong reservations and Russia has reiterated its opposition just days before Bush meets with the country's president Vladimir Putin.

Tony Blair was keen to use the "special relationship" to bridge the divide between the two sides.

"The most important thing is that Europe and America should always stick together," he said.

"Of course there will be areas where we need intensive negotiations, like nuclear defence, but the world is a more secure and more stable place if Europe and America are together."

The Guardian reveals that unions and Labour MPs are planning a Labour conference resolution opposing the missile defence project.

The meeting of NATO leaders in Brussels was dominated by the growing crisis in Macedonia, with the French president, Jacques Chirac, warning that NATO should prepare for a third Balkans intervention to prevent the country's slide into civil war.