WASHINGTON - THE White House said on Monday that President Barack Obama has no plans to travel to Spain for a European Union summit in May, after a year of frenzied foreign travel in his first year in office.
Mr Obama's decision, plus an announcement Monday that he will go to Indonesia and Australia in the second half of March, will likely add to speculation that he sees America's future as less linked to Europe than other regions.
But presidential aides pointed out that Mr Obama traveled to Europe no fewer than six times last year, most recently to the Copenhagen climate summit, and has cultivated 'robust' ties with Spain's leaders.
'The president is committed to a strong US-EU partnership, and with Europe in general,' National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said. 'There were no plans for the president to travel to Spain for a summit this spring,'
Mr Hammer said, adding that Obama still looked forward to close cooperation with Europe and Spain on Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, the global economy and climate change.
'We are still working through the president's travel schedule for the rest of the year and will make announcements on trips and summits when those are set,' Mr Hammer said. -- AFP
