Obama, NATO head meet at White House

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Monday "discussed goals" for a May NATO summit in Chicago, the White House said.

After an Oval Office meeting, the White House issued a statement saying Obama and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen agreed that NATO, "by acting quickly and decisively," saved thousands of civilians lives in Libya during Operation Unified Protector.

"The president and the secretary-general also discussed goals for the May 20-21 NATO summit, which the president will host in Chicago, including taking further steps to ensure that NATO has the defense capabilities it needs to meet 21st century security threats," the statement said. "They agreed that the Chicago summit should seek to further broaden and deepen NATO's relationships with non-NATO partner nations."

The statement said Obama and Rasmussen discussed "the important progress" made by NATO-led force in Afghanistan, and said the Chicago summit "might shape the next major phase of transition in Afghanistan."