Washington - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said
he and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton agreed during a
meeting on Thursday that crossings into the Gaza Strip need to be
opened.
Kouchner said the crossing must be opened so goods and
humanitarian supplies can enter Gaza to alleviate Palestinian
suffering following a devastating three-week Israeli military
offensive last month.
'We are really very anxious about the situation of the people of
Gaza, and we were in agreement together with Madame Secretary of
State to make pressure on both side to open the crossing,' Kouchner
said after his first meeting with the new secretary of state.
Clinton and Kouchner also discussed the conflict in Afghanistan
and a host of other issues that included Iran's nuclear activities,
the Israel-Palestinian conflict, violence in Sudan's Darfur region,
and closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.
The United States is seeking broader European support in
Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban has prompted an increase in
violence over the past two years and a deteriorating security
environment.
'The United States is also very proud and grateful to have France
as a coalition partner in our efforts to strengthen the Afghan
peoples efforts to build a better future,' Clinton said.
President Barack Obama is weighing plans to increase the US
presence there by redeploying soldiers from Iraq. There are
currently about 34,000 US troops in Afghanistan, but that number
could nearly double by the end of the year.
Obama announced plans January 22 to close the notorious
Guantanamo Bay detention centre and find a solution for the 245
detainees. The Obama administration will likely ask several European
countries to resettle the detainees, but the European Union has been
divided over whether to accept inmates.
Kouchner said the EU must develop a common policy because under
EU rules, citizens are allowed to pass across borders without showing
identification.
USA
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