London:
In an address to both houses of the British Parliament in Westminster Hall, President Obama said Wednesday that the United States and Britain remain "indispensible" nations for peace and stability and the "greatest catalysts for global action" in a time of war, terrorism and economic insecurity.
Highlighting the need for a "new era of cooperation" between the two nations that already enjoy a special relationship, Mr. Obama stressed their shared values in a speech that drew a straight line from the beaches of Normandy to the NATO bombing mission in Libya.
"It is wrong to conclude that the rise of countries like China, India and Brazil means the end of American and European leadership," he said. "Even as more nations take on the responsibilities of global leadership, our alliance will remain indispensable."
Mr. Obama's speech came hours after a joint news conference with Prime Minister David Cameron in which the two leaders renewed their calls for Col. Moammar el-Gaddafi to "leave office." Mr. Cameron said the two allies "should be turning up the heat" on the Libyan leader.
After the pomp and ceremony of the previous day, with Queen Elizabeth II welcoming Mr. Obama to Britain and showing him around Buckingham Palace herself, the second day of Mr. Obama's trip turned to geopolitics in meetings with Mr. Cameron, and his address to the British Parliament.
But a measure of ceremony hung over Mr. Obama's address as it echoed through the cavernous Westminster Hall, a venue used for such events only on rare occurrences. The last three speakers to address both houses of Parliament there were Pope Benedict XVI, the queen and Nelson Mandela. "Which is either a very high bar," Mr. Obama said, "or the beginning of a very funny joke."
The state visit - only the second for a president since the queen took the throne (George W. Bush made one in 2003) - comes amid uprisings that have shaken the Arab world this spring and intensifying attention on the Arab-Israeli conflict over the past week.
In his speech, Mr. Obama again welcomed the push for democracy in the region and urged Western nations to support those fighting for greater freedom. "What we saw, what we are seeing," he said, "is a longing for the same freedoms that we take for granted here at home," adding that "We do this knowing that the West must overcome suspicion."
Questions about policy in the Middle East dominated the early afternoon news conference, with the two leaders hewing close to their previous statements and appearing eager to express agreement.
As the NATO-led coalition intensifies airstrikes in Libya, Mr. Cameron said, Colonel Gaddafi "must go."
Mr. Obama added that he should understand "that there won't be a let up in the pressure." Mr. Obama said that NATO would "continue Libya operations until Gaddafi's attacks on the people cease." But he also said that he and Mr. Cameron had agreed to rule out "boots on the ground."
"We are both committed to do everything we can to support people who reach for democracy and leaders who support democratic reform," Mr. Obama said. He added, "We will strongly oppose use of violence against protesters." The question of the status of Palestinian refugees and the future of Jerusalem is "extraordinarily emotional," he said, but "could be resolved if there's a prospect and promise" that Israelis and Palestinians can work together to solve questions about territorial boundaries and address Israel's security concerns.
"What I'm absolutely certain of," he added, "is that if they're not talking, we're not going to make any progress, and neither the Israeli people or the Palestinian people will be well served."
Mr. Obama also had stern words for the Palestinians regarding Fatah's alliance with its rival, Hamas, saying, "It's very hard to sit across the table from a party that is denying your right to exist, and has not renounced the right to send missiles and rockets into your territory."
Mr. Cameron described the president's call last week for Israel's 1967 borders to be the starting point for a deal on a Palestinian state as "bold and visionary."
The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, formally announced last week that he was planning to appeal to the United Nations in September to recognize a de facto Palestinian state. Mr. Obama called that move "a mistake" on Wednesday, saying only that negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians could bring about the realization of Mr. Abbas's goal.
Mr. Obama said his goal in embracing the 1967 borders was "a Jewish state of Israel that is safe and secure and recognized by its neighbours" and "a sovereign state of Palestine in which the Palestinian people are able to determine their own fate and their own future."
"I'm confident that can be achieved," Mr. Obama said. "That is going to require wrenching compromise on each side."
Speaking Wednesday afternoon at Lancaster House, near Buckingham Palace, both leaders praised the British-American relationship, with Mr. Cameron saying it was "a living partnership. It is essential to our security and it is essential to our prosperity."
Mr. Obama thanked the queen and the British people for showing "genuine affection and warmth" during his visit.
The queen's welcome on Tuesday, with the Scots Guards' band playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the firing of a 41-gun cannon salute that resounded across the gardens of Buckingham Palace, began a two-day visit by the president, rich in pageantry but shadowed by concerns over the Libyan stalemate, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and deepening tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
American and British officials played down any differences, though analysts said Britain was frustrated by the Obama administration's refusal to expand its military engagement in Libya. American officials have expressed fears that cuts in military spending could hobble Britain's ability to support the United States in foreign conflicts.
On Tuesday, though, policy took a back seat to ruffles and flourishes. The queen and Mr. Obama walked onto the west terrace of the palace just after 12:30, under a bright sky with a brisk wind that ruffled the bearskin hats of the Scots Guardsmen.
After the American national anthem was played, Mr. Obama reviewed the honour guard with Prince Philip. The queen and the first lady, Michelle Obama, watched from the terrace, putting their heads together to chat like old friends.
In a rare gesture, the queen invited the Obamas to stay at Buckingham Palace. A palace aide said she gave them a tour of their six-room suite, used by Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge on the night of their wedding. "It may not be the same bed; it is the same suite," said the aide, who, by custom, asked not to be identified by name.
Mr. and Mrs. Obama met with the newlyweds, giving them a wedding present of six donated MacBook notebook computers to a Northern Ireland charity supported by Prince William.
Mr. Obama's state visit is meant to underline Britain's "special relationship" with the United States, even if that phrase has sometimes suggested more warmth and solidarity than actually exists between two strong-minded allies.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Cameron prefer to call it an "essential relationship," a phrase road-tested in a joint op-ed article published Tuesday in The Times of London. Shared national interests, they wrote, unite the United States and Britain.
"We can honestly say that despite being two leaders from two different political traditions, we see eye to eye," Mr. Obama and Mr. Cameron wrote. "We look at the world in a similar way, share the same concerns and see the same strategic possibilities."
Some British commentators argue that Mr. Obama, a former community organizer from Chicago, and Mr. Cameron, the conservative leader from a privileged background, have little natural affinity. Yet officials on both sides say the two men get along well.
Speaking with American reporters on Monday, Mr. Cameron insisted there were no substantive disagreements between him and Mr. Obama on Libya, the Middle East or Afghanistan.
Yet experts said the British had been dismayed at what they saw as America's reluctance to commit itself fully to toppling Libya's leader, Colonel Gaddafi. Some feel the United States mishandled its decision to withdraw planes from front-line missions last month.
"The British are disappointed that the U.S. seems only to be half-committed to this battle," said Charles Grant, director of the Center for European Reform in London. "The view goes that even if the U.S. felt it had to make withdrawals, to say so in public would allow Gaddafi to relax and think that the U.S. didn't really want to get rid of him."
Britain has also parted company with the United States on Palestinian statehood, telling Israel that it might support a Palestinian declaration of independence if there were no credible peace talks. The United States opposes any unilateral declaration.
Mr. Obama hopes to persuade Mr. Cameron not to take that path, casting his latest proposal for breaking the impasse in peace talks as a viable alternative. "All that is part of investing in a credible alternative to efforts that we don't believe will resolve the conflict," said Benjamin J. Rhodes, the president's deputy national security adviser.