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06:11 GMT
WASHINGTON, March 10 (KUNA) -- President Barack Obama mentioned the importance of discussing the Ukraine crisis, Libya, ISIL, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) during remarks made alongside EU President Donald Tusk on Monday before their meeting.
Obama primarily focused on Ukraine and stressed, "unless we have strong monitoring and strong implementation, these [ceasefire] agreements will be meaningless."
He continued to highlight the challenges of the Ukrainian economy to which he hoped to discuss ways to make sure that Ukraine is "able to succeed" and pressed for "Europe and the United States, to supplement the work that's being done by the IMF (International Monetary Fund)."
On the Middle East, Obama asserted that the two leaders share concerns over Libya, Iraq, and ISIL so they should, "work effectively to prevent foreign fighters from getting to Syria, as well as foreign fighters leaving Syria and coming back to Europe and the United States."
Finally in terms of the TTIP, he noted that the meeting would be a chance to strengthen trade through the transatlantic agreement.
For his part, Tusk echoed Obama's sentiments and said, "Although these are three very different challenges, they have a common denominator".[it's] a need for unity of Europe and the United States."
He continued to speak on the TTIP and stressed, "We need to advance the negotiations, for sure, and we have to convince public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic, TTIP is not only about trade but also jobs, it's about political security for our population."
In response to the Ukraine crisis, Tusk reiterated the importance of maintaining sanctions on Russia until the Minsk Agreement is implemented.
Finally, on violent extremism, the EU President weighed importance on halting the spread of extremism in Africa.
He concluded that it is, "Important for Europe and for America to not only speak in one voice but also to act in unison, because who we are tomorrow depends on what we do today." (end)
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