Afghanistan, energy, topics at dinner hosted by American president

In related news, on Thursday evening Barack Obama hosted a dinner in Prague for 11 leaders from central and eastern Europe. Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said the main issue discussed was the NATO mission in Afghanistan and energy security. Many countries in the region are heavily dependent on Russian gas and oil and fear being blackmailed by Moscow as a result.

The informal event had been seen as an opportunity for President Obama to reassure regional leaders that Washington is not deserting its allies because of the decision to reset relations with Moscow. That fear has been expressed frequently following the decision by the US at the end of 2009 to ditch plans for an anti-missile defence system in the Czech Republic and Poland following Russian protests. But Mr Fischer said this was not one of the main issues.