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EU-US summit ends on high note
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-06 10:52
"Today, the Cold War disappears ... but the threat of nuclear attack has gone up," he said, noting that nuclear testing still continues and the black trade of nuclear materials and technology still exists. "We must stand together for the right of people everywhere to live free of (nuclear) fear in the 21st century," Obama said. Afghanistan was another major issue for the United States and the EU. They agreed at the one-day summit that further expansion of the police training capacities in Afghanistan should be ensured, as well as intensification and coordination of the assistance in the areas of capacity building, good governance, rule of law and economic development. Although EU countries endorsed Obama's new Afghan war strategy, they were reluctant to make real contributions by sending more combat troops to the war-torn country, despite repeated calls from Washington.
They said peace in the region requires a comprehensive solution through a lasting and just settlement of the conflict in all its tracks. "The EU and the US both support a durable ceasefire, reconciliation and an inclusive government in the Palestinian territories, substantive reconstruction and forward movement in the peace process through the Quartet towards a two-state solution, " the joint declaration said. Despite the warming-up of transatlantic ties, analysts said the "policy substance" of the White House toward relations with Europe has not changed. "The music has already completely changed in his (Obama's) manner of handling transatlantic relations. Europeans both admire and like Obama and find him easy to talk to," said Stanley Crossick, former chairman of the European Policy Center, a Brussels-based think tank, in an interview with Xinhua. "However, this does not mean that the policy substance has necessarily changed," he said. Crossick noted that whether the Obama visit is a "milestone" for transatlantic relations would "depend not on words and communiques but on whether there is a clear mutual understanding and agreed action."
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