Statement for the Press by Francis X. Taylor, U.S. Coordinator for Counterterrorism after Meeting with State Secretary Morenés, 03/08/02

Secretary of State for Security Morenés and I have had highly productive discussions on ways Spain and the US can cooperate more closely in combating terrorism. We exchanged ideas on the global counterterrorism campaign and talked about how to expand the sharing of information on terrorist organizations.

Our two countries have a long tradition of friendship and mutual assistance. We appreciate the strong support of President Aznar and the people of Spain in the current campaign against al- Qaida and in the war against terrorism. We also appreciate that President Aznar has made counterterrorism the "priority of priorities" for Spain's current EU presidency.

Spain has waged a long fight against ETA terrorism and the US supports the government of Spain in that struggle. As President Bush has said, we will stand shoulder to shoulder with our Spanish friends to meet the challenge of terrorism.

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