Clinton assures Europe over efforts with Russia

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Washington's engagement with Moscow does not undermine its support for Georgia and the Baltic and Balkan nations, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday hours ahead of talks with her Russian counterpart. "Our engagement with Russia in no way undermines our support for countries like Georgia or the Baltics or the Balkans or anywhere else in Europe," Clinton told aspiring leaders in a town hall-style forum at the European Parliament that was Web cast to 31 countries.

"Those nations have a right to be independent, free, make their own decisions and chart their own course without undue interference from Russia," Bloomberg quoted top American diplomat as saying.

The exchange was part of Clinton’s drive to improve America’s image abroad during her first round of foreign visits. As Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to press Friday, Clinton is set to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva, where she planed to pursue the Obama administration’s plans to solidify partnerships on key issues, even with occasional adversaries.

U.S. secretary of state repeated her call for a fresh start with Russia on Friday, but also said divisions remained on NATO expansion and Russia's relations with its neighbors. "There are areas where we just flat out disagree and we are not going to paper those over," Clinton told the BBC. "We will not recognize the breakaway areas of Georgia, we do not recognize any sphere of influence on the part of Russia and their having some kind of veto power over who can join the EU or who can join NATO," she added, according to Reuters.

Strong partner

Clinton’s hour-long forum with European Union interns and young staff was the highest-level U.S. visit to the European Parliament since former President Ronald Reagan visited in 1985, said Hans-Gert Poettering, president of the EU assembly. She spoke in a round chamber in a building built in 1998 and named for Altiero Spinelli, an Italian who was one of the EU’s founding fathers.

She vowed Friday to "energize" ties between the United States and Europe, turning a page on past tensions fuelled by Washington's war on Iraq. "President Obama and I intend to energize the transatlantic relationship and to promote a strong European Union and, more fundamentally, a strong Europe," she said. "We derive strength from each other. A strong Europe is a strong partner for the United States, and the Obama administration intends for the United States to be a strong partner for Europe," Agence France-Presse quoted her as saying.

Former U.S. President George W. Bush had strained ties with some European allies over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the conflict even fomented internal divisions. But Obama's election was warmly welcomed in Europe, and EU leaders are keen to exploit any momentum that his arrival in office might bring. Clinton, 61, has met with young people or women’s groups at almost every stop on last week’s swing through the Mideast and Europe. She did the same on her Asia tour last month, blending outreach to non-governmental organizations into a back- to-back schedule of diplomatic talks.

On Israeli settlements built in territory that ultimately may become part of an independent Palestinian state, Clinton repeated the position held during the Bush administration that they are "unhelpful." She said the U.S. would address such issues after the Israelis form a new government in the wake of last month’s elections. Clinton also added that the U.S. was "testing the waters" in its diplomatic overtures to Iran and Syria this week. On Thursday, top U.S. diplomat said she planned to invite Iran to an international conference on Afghanistan, likely to happen later this month, and two senior U.S. officials will be in Syria this weekend as part of the new U.S. strategy to speak to its enemies. "We have a sense of urgency in the Obama administration. We believe that there are a lot of challenges and threats that we have inherited that we have to address but there are lots of opportunities," Clinton told National Public Radio.