WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (NNN-KUNA) — A nuclear security summit is due here in April that aims at pushing forward a counter-proliferation agenda, a US official announced here Friday.

National Security Council Spokesman Mike Hammer told reporters in a briefing held at the Foreign Press Center, that US President Barack Obama is “determined to work every day to advance American national security interests”.

Hammer shed light, in this regard, to the nuclear security summit due in Washington D.C. on April 11-12.

He indicated that this summit is a “follow-on to what he (Obama) started” last April in Prague “with the effort to very aggressively push forward a counter-proliferation agenda”.

He added that this also comes to “ensure the security of nuclear weapons to prevent any potential for nuclear terrorism”.

Hammed affirmed that during his second year in office, Obama “will have an opportunity not only to travel abroad, but also continue the very engaged period for this year on foreign policy national security issues”.

Speaking of the Obama Administration after one year, Hammer said that Obama did receive many leaders at the White House last year. “We fully anticipate this coming year to also get into discussing many important bilateral relationships”.

As for the issues that are of interest, he indicated “strengthening the NATO alliance and our cooperation with them in Afghanistan; whether it’s talking about the situation in Pakistan; Yemen,as it relates to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula; cooperation with dealing with issues of Somalia and pirates; the situation in Sudan”.

On the Middle East, the official reiterated Obamas full determination to “continue to support efforts at getting the parties in the Middle East together to advance the peace process”.

He affirmed that the Mideast Peace Process remains “a very high priority and will continue to be”.

Furthermore, he also shed light on Obamas belief that international cooperation is “critical as we move forward in terms of eliminating the threat of Al Qaeda, of Al-Qaeda Arabian Peninsula, wherever it might surface”.

Regarding Iran, Hammer indicated that during the first year of this administration, there was a “willingness” by Obama “to start a dialogue with the leadership in Iran relating to trying to tackle this issue of their nuclear program, which is a concern to the entire international community”.

He described the proposal of the IAEA as a “very fair one” regarding the Tehran research reactor.

“We had looked until the end of the year to try to see if the engagement process would yield the desired result in terms of Iran cooperating with the international community and meeting its international obligations. It has not done so,” he affirmed.

He indicated that several “serious” discussions are being held with key partners beyond “not only the P-5 plus one, but beyond that, in terms of the pressure track”.

He stressed that “as we pursue the pressure track, the door remains open for Iran to walk through and engage in an appropriate way, to allay the concerns of the international community”.

“But should it not, we are now proceeding down the pressure track,” Hammer remarked. — NNN-KUNA

• HANTAVIRUS OUTBREAK IN CHILEAN REGION
• WORLD ORGANIZATION DEMANDS OBAMA TO FREE CUBAN FIVE
• DEATH TOLL FROM BUILDING COLLAPSE RISES TO 17 IN PAKISTAN
• HILDHOOD OBESITY IN MONTSERRAT AN EMERGING PROBLEM
• KIDNAPPED IRANIAN PILGRIMS FREED IN SYRIA