MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US confirms Obama/CFK meeting Friday: ‘opportunity for a positive relationship’

President Obama wants to personally congratulate CFK on her re-election

The US Government confirmed that president Barack Obama is scheduled to meet privately with President Cristina Fernández on Friday. The meeting will take place in Cannes, France one day after the G20 Summit begins.

According to US National Security Deputy Advisor Ben Rhodes, the meeting will be “an important opportunity” for both countries to discuss their future relationship after the “up and downs” it’s been going through in the last couple of years.

“We’ve had some up and downs in our bilateral relationship in the last couple of years, but we firmly believe that whenever there’s an election and a leader is re-elected, it represents an opportunity to strengthen our relations and establish a base for cooperation,” Rhodes stated.

The White House official also said that the interview will be an opportunity for Obama to “personally congratulate Cristina Fernández on her re-election.”

“We see this as an opportunity, after the President’s re-election, to make a turn into a more positive relationship,” he concluded.

A meeting between Obama and Cristina Fernández came at the request of the US Government, who in the last couple of days has signalled heavily on their intentions to renew their relationship with Argentina.

President Cristina Fernández is scheduled to leave for Cannes on Tuesday at 8 pm, and she is expected to land there by Wednesday afternoon. Along with the President, Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman and Economy Minister and Vice-president elect Amado Boudou will also be attending the summit.

The last time Obama and Fernández de Kirchner met face to face was in April, 2010 during the Nuclear Security World Summit in Washington