ངོ་འཕྲད་བདེ་བའི་དྲ་འབྲེལ།

གཟའ་ཕུར་བུ། ༢༠༢༤/༠༣/༢༨

Clinton Visits Chile in Wake of Deadly Earthquake


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in earthquake-stricken Chile, the third stop on her six-nation tour of Latin America.

Clinton was greeted Tuesday at the airport in Santiago by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

During her brief visit, Secretary Clinton is delivering much-needed satellite phones. The communications equipment is the first U.S. assistance to the South American nation since Saturday's earthquake.

Other details of U.S. aid are to be discussed during Clinton's visit, which includes talks with Chilean President-elect Sebastian Pinera, who takes office next week.

On Monday, Secretary Clinton held talks in Buenos Aires with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who asked for help mediating Argentina's dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands.

Clinton said the U.S. will encourage both nations to engage in diplomacy, but will not commit to a more involved role.

Clinton began her trip in Uruguay.

Her next stop is Brazil, where on Wednesday she plans to urge President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to join the United States in supporting new U.N. sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear program.

She also plans to visit Costa Rica and Guatemala before heading back to the United States.

The U.S. takes a neutral position on the competing claims over the British-held Falkland Islands, which are nearly 500 kilometers from the South American coast. Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Falklands, which it refers to as Las Malvinas. It seized the islands in April 1982, and held them for two months until British forces retook control.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.

XS
SM
MD
LG