Clinton to Tackle Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan on New Trip

WASHINGTON : US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left on Sunday for Europe and Asia largely to consult with US partners on curbing North Korea’s and Iran’s nuclear ambitions as well as on stabilizing Afghanistan.

A plane carrying Clinton and her aides took off from Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington at about 00:15 am (0515 GMT).

The chief US diplomat was to give a speech in Berlin on Sunday before joining German Chancelor Angela Merkel and other world leaders in celebrations on Monday for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In a preview of her visit, Clinton told a Washington audience on Friday that the wall’s fall marked the end of a Cold War era in which the world was divided into clear blocs.

“So we find ourselves now in a much more complex world, and we just have to be up for it and we have to be smarter about it,” Clinton said. “And we have to demand more from ourselves and our partners.”

President Barack Obama’s adminstration, despite the adulation he enjoys in western Europe after the departure of his predecessor George W. Bush, is struggling to obtain more support from European partners in Afghanistan.

Clinton’s visit comes as the Obama administration pursues a weeks-long internal debate about a new strategy for Afghanistan, where Taliban rebels are gaining ground.

A senior State Department official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Afghanistan will be a key topic when Clinton meets Merkel, her foreign minister Guido Westerwelle and counterparts from other European nations.

It is a main issue “because again we are looking to coordinate closely with our allies to try to help figure out the best way forward, that all of can contribute to stabilizing Afghanistan,” the official said.

Germany, which has 4,200 troops in Afghanistan, has come under fire from its allies for refusing combat missions there.

Clinton, the US official said, will also pursue multilateral diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions during her stop in Berlin as well as her visit to Singapore and China afterward.

The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany are partners in negotiations with Iran aimed at halting Tehran’s uranium enrichment program — which western countries fear masks efforts to build a bomb.

Russia and China, which have strong economic links with Iran, have been more reluctant to impose sanctions on Iran for its defiance, but Washington sees signs that Moscow is changing course.

The six powers are awaiting a response from Tehran that calls for Iran to export to Russia more than 2,640 pounds (1,200 kilos) of its 3.5 percent, low-enriched uranium (LEU) for refining up to 20 percent, to fuel a Tehran reactor that makes medical isotopes.

France would then fashion the material into fuel rods for the reactor.

During her stop in Germany, Clinton is expected to discuss Iran with Washington’s partners, except possibly China which is not expected to send its foreign minister to Berlin, the US official said.

North Korea’s weapons-grade nuclear program is also likely to be raised in Berlin as Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, a key player in the diplomacy over North Korea, is due in the German capital.

The United States, Russia, China, South Korea, North Korea, and Japan are partners in the so-called six party talks that Pyongyang bolted in April after the United Nations censured it for a long-range rocket launch.

North Korea then tested a nuclear weapon a month later, but insists it is ready to return to the talks following face-to-face meetings with the United States.

The issue will come up during Clinton’s private meetings with her Asian partners during her visit to Singapore from November 10-12 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting, the official said.

“There’s no bigger issue to Asian security right now than North Korea’s nuclear program,” the official added.

She will also travel to the Philippines but return to Singapore on November 13 to join Obama at the APEC summit, aides said.

The chief US diplomat and Obama will then travel together in China, which chairs the six-party negotiations, from November 15-18.