US President George Bush today acknowledged European concerns about the detainees the United States is holding at Guantanmo Bay, but said some were "cold-blooded" killers that needed to be brought to justice.
US anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan demonstrates against the visit of the US President to Vienna
Opposition is growing in the EU to the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, the US-led campaign in Iraq and the purported existence of secret CIA terror prisons in Eastern Europe.
Mr Bush acknowledged EU concerns about the 460 detainees held at the US facility in Cuba. He said the group includes some dangerous people who need to be brought to justice.
"I understand their concerns," Bush said. "I'd like to end Guantanamo. I'd like it to be over with." Mr Bush said 200 Guantanamo detainees had been sent home, and that of the 460 remaining, most were from Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Afghanistan.
"There are some who need to be tried in US courts," he said. "They're cold-blooded killers. They will murder somebody if they are let out on the street."
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel - whose country holds the rotating presidency of the 25-nation EU - said it's best for Iran to agree to the proposal as soon as possible. "This is the carrot. Take it," Schuessel said.
Earlier today, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country will respond to the proposal by mid-August.
On North Korea, Chancellor Schuessel agreed with Mr Bush that the communist country faces further isolation from the international community if it test fires a long-range missile believed capable of reaching US soil.
Mr Schuessel said Europe would support the US against North Korea if it test fired the missile.
"If that happens, there will be a strong statement and a strong answer from the international community. And Europe will be part of it. There's no doubt," said the Austrian leader, who appeared at a press conference with Mr Bush and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
President Bush thanked EU leaders for their support in Afghanistan and Iraq, while acknowledging differences over the US-led invasion of Iraq.
"I can understand the differences ... but what's past is past and what's ahead is a hopeful democracy in the Middle East," he said.
Barroso said the leaders also discussed with Bush a way to reach a balanced conclusion to a global trade deal. The United States is among 149 nations trying to finish the international round of trade talks known as the Doha Round, named after the city in Qatar where they began.