Middle East and High North key themes in breakfast meeting between Støre and Rice

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice started her official visit to Norway with an hour-long breakfast meeting with Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

The breakfast meeting preceded the informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, which began in Oslo on Thursday. The Middle East peace process and the High North were key themes during the talks.

Foreign Minister Støre says that their talks on the Middle East, which is an issue of great concern to both of them, were useful. “We agreed on the need for an international effort to get the peace process back on track. In order to garner broad international support – both political and economic – the Palestinian Government must continue to comply with the international community’s demands, such as recognising the state of Israel and renouncing the use of violence. At the same time, Israel must honour its commitments,” he said.

Foreign Minister Støre informed his US counterpart about the new opportunities and challenges presented by the natural resources in the High North. “The US and Norway have common interests in ensuring that the petroleum resources in the Barents Sea are developed in a safe, secure and environmentally sound way. This is an interest we also share with the Russians,” said Mr Støre. He also pointed out that the start of shipments of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Snøhvit field to the US in the autumn will mark the establishment of yet another tie between Norway and the US.

• See video of the press conference with Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice