北约峰会成为新的焦点

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This morning, President Obama is crossing borders in Europe, first in France. Now he is headed to Germany, that's where he's gonna meet with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. And no matter what happens in Germany, it may be hard to match Mr Obama's public perception and reception in France. With the French president at his side, well-wishers pushed and shoved just to shake hands with the president. He is visiting the two countries, because both are hosting the annual NATO summit. Our cnn White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is travelling with President Obama in Europe and she joins us live now. Hi, Suzanne.

Hey, Reggie, obviously, President Obama is really trying to take advantage, if you will, of that popularity, excitement and enthusiasm around him, being received very well around Europe and he wants to translate it into trying to push European leaders into moving in a certain direction. He said this is a renewed partnership, he said it is time for the United States to listen and to learn. But for Europe, essentially to take on more responsibility, even share the burden if he will. What is he talking about? Well, he says that he envisions a world without nuclear weapons that the United States and Russia taking the first steps and trying to reduce their nuclear warheads. He is also, Reggie, talking about the mission in Afghanistan, very much trying to drum up more support from European allies, to get more resources, not expecting necessarily an increase in troops but perhaps civilians and money and resources, this type of thing. This is very important, but it is going to be a tough sell. Here is how he put it.

"We stand here in a city that used to stand at the center of European conflict, only now it's the center of European Union. We did that together. Now, we must not give up on one another. We must renew this relationship for a new generation, in a new century. We must hold firm to our common values, hold firm to our faith in one another. Together, I'm confident that we can achieve the promise of a new day."

And Reggie, someone encouraging to President Obama is actually to see the body language and even to hear the French President Nicolas Sarkozy speak so warmly about them. The two of them met earlier today and Sarkozy said in his words, he says, it feels really good to work with a US president who wants to change the world and who understands the world. And then he went on to say that, look, he understands that President Obama wants to close Guantanamo Bay detention facility and he said he's offering to take a French man from that facility back to France. And that is something that significant. He says that he wants to show that he shares this goodwill with United States. But he did not say that he was gonna increase troops and resources, per se, inside of Afghanistan. We heard President Obama emphasizing, this is not just a US mission, but it's a NATO mission, a world mission. But as we've noted, Reggie, that really is gonna be tough for a lot of the European leaders to move forward and give a lot more when it comes to Afghanistan.

And this all comes in this strangest timing of all, this all comes when France is finally thought of getting back on board with NATO, right?

Oh, absolutely, because there is now a part of what is the military wing of NATO, and so they, France is actually gonna have more power, more say in how this world body makes its decisions about its priorities when you talk about security around the world. Is it going to be cyber-threat? Is it gonna be global terrorism? What're the kinds of things that this organization is really gonna focus on? Obviously, President Obama wants them to focus on Afghanistan, on going after the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, making the case that, look, this is something that is gonna impact all of you guys as well, because obviously, you're a target of Al-Qaeda as well as United States. Reggie.

So going into these big questions were how is the French president going to react to President Obama's presence. And then also how the German chancellor is going to react. So I know he is, should be en route right now to go and talk to her. What do we expect from this meeting?

This is very important because a couple of things that obviously Angela Merkel is looking at. She as well as Sarkozy, wanted very strict regulations for financial markets. They got what they wanted in the end still that strict language out of the G20 summit. Also taking a look at the auto industry, Germany very much tied in [with] United States, and whether or not that actually is a viable industry. And, uh, third, they got troops as well. There was an increase that Merkel announced it was just last year, the Parliament voted 4500 troops inside of Afghanistan, but it is in the area that's considered relatively safe inside of Afghanistan. So again, President Obama is gonna turn to Merkel and say "Look, what can you do to help us here? This is gonna be a really tough situation. It's gonna be a tough war. We're gonna need you and many of the other partners to do more." Reggie.

Suzzane Malveaux live for us covering the president's travels in France and now headed to Germany. Suzanne, thanks so much.

Glossary [only for reference]

 perception [uncountable]: the natural ability to understand or notice things quickly

well-wisher [countable]: someone who shows by their behaviour that they like someone and want them to succeed, be happy etc

 shove [intransitive and transitive]: to push someone or something in a rough or careless way, using your hands or shoulders

live: a live television or radio programme is seen or heard on television or radio at the same time as it is actually happening

translate [intransitive and transitive]: happen as result; if one thing translates into another, the second thing happens as a result of the first

envision [transitive]: to imagine something that you think might happen in the future, especially something that you think will be good [= envisage]

warhead [countable]: the explosive part at the front of a missile

drum something up [phrasal verb]: to get support, interest, attention etc from people by making an effort

tough sell [=hard sell] [American English]: if an idea is a hard sell, it is difficult to get people to accept it

hold to something [phrasal verb]: if you hold to a belief, principle, promise etc, you believe it or behave according to it
body language [uncountable]: changes in your body position and movements that show what you are feeling or thinking
per se: formal used to say that something is being considered alone, not with other connected things
timing [uncountable and countable]: the time when someone does something or when something happens, especially when you are considering how suitable this is
wing [countable]: a group of people within a political party or other organization who have a particular opinion or aim
say [singular, uncountable]: the right to take part in deciding somethin
 
cyber- [prefix]: relating to computers, especially to messages and information on the Internet

en route: on the way
look at somebody/something [phrasal verb]: to study and think about something, especially in order to decide what to do

tie in with something [phrasal verb]: to be similar to another idea, statement etc, so that they seem to be true / also be tied in with something: to be related in some way to something else
viable: able to continue to live or to develop into a living thing