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In France, Obama looks for support on Afghanistan US President Barack Obama arrived in France on Friday for a NATO summit, where he pledged to repair US-European relations, sent a warning to North Korea, and stressed the importance of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran. Obama was greeted by cheering crowds as he arrived in the city of Strasbourg, where he met France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy. NATO is celebrating its 60th anniversary this weekend, and the American president is hoping to secure backing for his new strategy on Afghanistan. That plan aims to defeat an increasing insurgency by Taliban and al-Qaida militants in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Speaking before a town-hall style gathering in Strasbourg, Obama said that the U.S. and its allies must stand together because “al-Qaida is still a threat”. Obama, Saudi King discuss Mideast peace initiative US President Barack Obama on Thursday held talks with Saudi King Abdullah, and reiterated his support for a 2002 Saudi initiative for Middle East peace. In their first face-to-face talks, held on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in London, the two leaders also “reaffirmed the long-standing, strong relationship between the two countries.” The Saudi peace initiative, which Abdullah sponsored in February 2002, calls for full Arab recognition of Israel if it withdraws from territories occupied after the 1967 Six Day War, and a “just settlement” to the Palestinian refugee crisis. Obama and Abdullah also discussed “international cooperation regarding the global economy, regional political and security issues, and cooperation against terrorism.” Senior US, Japanese officials discuss Iran, Middle East Senior US and Japanese officials met on Thursday in Washington, where they confirmed that they would maintain dialogue over Iran and increase cooperation on the Middle East, reports the Associated Press. Quoting unnamed informed sources, AP reports that Japan’s ambassador to Tehran, Akio Shirota, and Toshiro Suzuki, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Middle Eastern and African Affairs bureau, met separately with Puneet Talwar, the National Security Council’s senior director for Iran, Iraq and the Persian Gulf countries, Representative Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and other US officials. While details of the talks were unknown, they were understood to be aimed at helping the United States formulate its policy toward Iran, because Tokyo has close ties with Tehran. The Japanese officials are due to hold talks on Friday with US officials on Afghanistan, including Iran’s possible role in contributing to international efforts at bringing stability to that country.

• Release Date

  Apr 6, 2009

• Runtime

  02:53