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The PES congratulates U.S. President Barack Obama on being awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. 

In his first ten months in office, President Obama has fearlessly turned the page on the unilateral foreign policy of the Bush Administration and promoted international dialogue. This constitutes a radical change not only in American policy, but also in international relations.  We can already see the positive effects of this approach, with new commitments on the Anti-Missiles System in Europe; with efforts to relaunch the Middle East peace process; with the dialogue with Iran; with the renewal of relations with the Muslim world; with ordering the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to be shut down, and many other promising steps.

Reacting to President Obama’s Nobel Prize award, PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said: “Since the beginning of his presidency, President Obama has courageously transformed the international climate for the better, and I strongly applaud that.“

“President Obama has described his selection as a ‘call to action’ for the world to cooperate on these issues. I am pleased to say that the PES shares his mission and welcomes Obama’s Nobel victory as an encouragement not only of his foreign policy, but of the emergent global cooperation. We support him and view his selection as an historic moment for progressive politics.”