US president calls for strong, united Europe
US President Barack Obama made an impassioned plea for European unity in the face of rising populism and scepticism yesterday, warning this was a "defining moment" for the continent.
"A strong and united Europe is a necessity for the world," Obama said in the German city of Hanover, in a landmark speech that carried the tone of a blunt challenge to friends.
Visiting a region reeling from a migration crisis, economic stagnation and facing the prospect of Britain abandoning the European Union, Obama warned that "progress is not inevitable".
Contrasting the prosperity of Europe today with the wars and hardship of the last century, Obama called on Europeans reject the "us-versus-them" politics that has fuelled the rise of the far right in countries from Poland to France.
"Perhaps you need an outsider, somebody who is not European, to remind you of the magnitude of what you have achieved," he said, a day after the anti-immigration far-right triumphed in a presidential vote in Austria.
Obama was in Germany for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, and both were to be joined later by the leaders of Britain, France and Italy in a meeting expected to focus on the fight against the IS in Syria and Iraq.
The US president also said the US would send up to 250 more special forces military trainers to Syria to help rebels fight Islamic State group jihadists.
"A small number of American special operations forces are already on the ground in Syria and their expertise has been critical as local forces have driven ISIL out of key areas," he said, using an alternative acronym for the militant group.
"So, given the success, I have approved the deployment of up to 250 additional US personnel in Syria, including special forces, to keep up this momentum," added Obama.
In an interview with the BBC aired Sunday, Obama said that "it would be a mistake for the United States, or Great Britain, or a combination of Western states to send in ground troops and overthrow the Assad regime."
He urged all parties "to sit down at the table and try to broker a transition".
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