希拉里会见德国外长(1/2)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently hosted German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle at the State Department.

As staunch allies,

they discussed both countries' cooperation on a broad range of issues.

First among them, was the ongoing NATO military operation in Afghanistan in which Germany has the third largest contingent of troops.

Both Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Westerwelle deeply regretted the recent loss of French and American soldiers in Afghanistan.

"But we should never forget why we are in Afghanistan,"

said Foreign Minister Westerwelle,

"It's so that Afghanistan may never become a safe haven for terrorists worldwide again."

He went on to say that we have to protect our own security and our own freedom and way of life in the Western community.

Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Westerwelle also discussed their concerns regarding Iran and the steps that country has taken toward furthering its nuclear weapons ambitions.

"We are both firmly committed to the dual-track approach, pressure to bring about meaningful engagement by Iran on its program,"

said Secretary Clinton,

"and we are closely coordinating as we implement sanctions."