Kouchner calls for Gaza crossings to open (Roundup)

Feb 5, 2009, 22:56 GMT

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.