London - United States President Barack Obama on Wednesday declared the US-European alliance as vital as ever and said it must use its influence to push for democratic reforms in the Middle East.
Obama outlined a manifesto for responding to the “Arab Spring” uprisings as he became the first US president to address both houses of the British parliament in Westminster Hall, whose walls are steeped in 1 000 years of history.
“Ultimately, freedom must be won by the people themselves, not imposed from without. But we can and must stand with those who so struggle,” he said.
His speech was aimed at reassuring Europe, where there is some sense that the United States is turning its attention elsewhere in the face of fierce diplomatic challenges from Asia and the Arab world.
In a speech anchoring his four-nation European trip, Obama said it was up to the United States, Britain and their European allies to lead at a time when the world was being tested by economic turmoil, Arab revolutions, Islamic militants, climate change and efforts to spread nuclear weapons.
It is a message he will carry Thursday to Deauville, France, where leaders of the Group of Eight powers meet.
The audience at Westminster Hall, which has been used for coronation banquets and the lying-in-state of deceased monarchs, included former prime ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and John Major and even American actor Tom Hanks.
All applauded when Obama, who had played up his Irish roots in Ireland earlier in the week, said it was an honour “for the grandson of a Kenyan who served as a cook in the British Army to stand before you as president of the United States.”
Obama rejected those who say the time of American and European influence around the world has passed as the likes of China, Brazil and India claim a bigger place on the world stage.
“That argument is wrong,” he said. “The time for our leadership is now... Our alliance will remain indispensable to the goal of a century that is more peaceful, more prosperous and more just.”
Obama and his wife Michelle enjoyed a final round of pomp by hosting a dinner in honour of Queen Elizabeth and attended by such luminaries as Harry Potter author JK Rowling, actor Colin Firth of The King's Speech and soccer star David Beckham.
A public opinion survey by Britain's Channel 4 News found Britons split over the future of its “special relationship” with America. Forty-two percent of those surveyed said the relationship should continue, and 39 percent said it should end. - Reuters