Summit balance 'very positive,' Minister Timerman assures

Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman indicated that Argentina’s participation in the 6th Summit of the Americas “left a very positive balance,” and stressed on the importance of the bilateral meeting between President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and US president Barack Obama. 

Joined by the presidential spokesman, Alfredo Scoccimarro, Timerman met with the Argentine press in order to praise the “positive balance” left by Argentina’s presence in the summit. He also said that all the heads of state present engaged in a “sincere, open and honest dialogue.” 

The minister, however, did not explain why Fernández de Kirchner left the summit early, before the final declaration was signed. The local media speculated that her departure may have been related to the lack of a joint statement on the Malvinas Islands sovereignty issue.

Regarding her meeting with Obama, Timerman said the US president was “surprised” when he was shown the covers of several Argentine newspapers, which mentioned that the purpose of their meeting was to discuss trade blocks. 

“Yesterday Obama told Cristina that he wanted to go on the record and make public that they had never discussed any complaints, demands or impositions coming from the US,” Timerman explained.

The minister also said that the White House recently released a statement regarding the bilateral meeting, which said that the things discussed with Argentina were very similar to those discussed in Cannes, and that Obama was interested on productive matters and wide range of other issues on the agenda.