Mideast, main focus of Obama''s European trip

WASHINGTON, May 20 (KUNA) -- White House officials said on Friday that recent events in the Middle East and North Africa will be center stage in President Barack Obama's European trip that will start next week. "It is an important opportunity to underscore the ties between the United States and Europe that are grounded in interests and values", said Deputy National Security Adviser for strategic communications Ben Rhodes in a conference call.
Obama will start his European trip in Dublin next Monday where he meets with President McAleese before travelling to London on Tuesday May 24.
"There is no closer ally for the United States in the world than the United Kingdom. And we are coordinating with them and closely aligned with them on issues ranging from our efforts in Afghanistan, our counterterrorism efforts, our ongoing efforts in Libya, our G-20 broader G-20 agenda and our nonproliferation activities", said Rhodes.
"We are in absolute alignment with the British on a range of core national security interests and, of course, are deeply share a set of values that have tied us together for many decades", he added.
Obama will arrive to Buckingham Palace to meet with Queen Elizabeth and will also hold talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Rhodes expected that the issues to be discussed between Obama and Cameron are Afghanistan, counterterrorism, Iran, Libya, the global economy, and the Arab events in the Middle East and North Africa will certainly be on the agenda".
The White House official said that Obama will deliver a speech at the UK Parliament where he will "be able to discuss both the alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom, and the interests and values that that alliance is rooted in, as well as the broader trans-Atlantic alliance, and the imperative of the United States and Europe retaining and strengthening our cooperation around the world".
Obama will later head to Deauville, France on May 26 for the G8 Summit where he will have bilateral talks with Russian President Dimitri Medvedev, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski.
Deputy National Security Adviser for international economic affairs Michael Froman noted that the G-8 leaders will talk about a range of political and security issues, including nonproliferation, North Korea, Iran, terrorism, drug trafficking, piracy and an extensive discussion this week on developments in the Middle East and North Africa as well and will be joined by the Prime Ministers of Egypt and Tunisia.
Senior director for European affairs Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall said that one of the goals of Obama's trip is "to highlight our enduring commitment to Europe, because European security and prosperity benefit the United States as much as they do Europe".
"Europe is our essential partner based on the values we share, and we see that every day as we look at the developments across the broader Middle East, that these values that have undergirded our partnership with Europe", she added.(end) jm.gb KUNA 201828 May 11NNNN