(MENAFN- QNA) US Secretary of State John Kerry asked the Vatican to help the United States find "adequate humanitarian solutions" for inmates currently being held at Guantanamo.
During an hour-long meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin in Rome, Kerry noted that the US is still committed to closing Guantanamo.
"The US commitment to the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison was also illustrated and the desire expressed for the Holy See’s assistance in seeking adequate humanitarian solutions for current inmates," Vatican spokesperson Fr. Federico Lombardi told the Vatican Insider.
The meeting also covered various issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the turmoil in the Middle East.
With more than 130 detainees still at Guantanamo, the US is perhaps hoping the Vatican’s many international connections could convince countries to change their minds and take detainees into their own facilities, the Vatican Insider reported. There has been no information regarding what the Vatican would do to help.
The US has been trying to transfer detainees from the prison for years, but has been hard-pressed to find countries willing to accept the terror suspects.
Opened in 2002, the prison has held hundreds of suspects without trial. Some detainees have been held since the complex opened in the wake of the September 11 attacks in 2001.
However, American lawmakers have balked at White House requests to transfer detainees to prisons in the United States. The home countries of suspects have also resisted proposals to accept their return, leaving America with the option of finding so-called "third countries" that are willing to facilitate a transfer.
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