09/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran, Syria, Iraq and the situation in Darfur were at the heart of the international issues discussed by US president George W. Bush and the president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, during their meeting on Monday in Washington (see other article). On the Palestinian question, Bush and Barroso reiterated their support for a “two-state solution”, as did president Bush in his address to the press with his support for “two democracies living side-by-side in peace”. On the issue of Darfur, Bush reiterated his belief that this involved genocide and had to be halted as soon as possible. Energy security and climate change were also discussed. Barroso informed the press that he was pleased that the US government appeared to be increasingly open to discussions on climate warming. Although Washington continues to reject the Kyoto Protocol, Mr Barroso declared, “I see a much more open attitude, committed to the need for common and global action on this problem”. Barroso added that, “This would make a great deal of difference if the USA was as clearly committed as us (in Europe), not only for us but also for attempting to obtain a commitment from China and India”. Bush again pointed out that the US supported a voluntary approach based on incentives to research and development of clean energy and technologies that would help reduce energy consumption. (hb)