NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama congratulated Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Friday for the Colombian military's killing of a top rebel commander, which he said would foster stability and development in the South America.
Obama met Santos, who took office in August, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, a day after the Colombian army announced it had killed rebel leader Mono Jojoy in a bombing raid on his guerrilla camp.
"Yesterday was a big day for the people of Colombia and those who are seeking peace in the region," Obama said at a picture-taking session with Santos before their talks.
Speaking of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Obama said Colombians "have been plagued by this terror insurgency for a very long time."
"... As a consequence of the success of Colombian security forces, I think we now have the chance to see continued stability in Colombia and in the region," Obama said. "And that will create the prospects for peace and development under President Santos's leadership. So I congratulate him."
FARC is at its weakest in decades after eight years of a U.S.-backed security campaign to hunt down rebel chiefs and drive guerrillas back into remote jungles and mountains. Once a force of 17,000, it now has about 8,000 in its ranks. Many units are deal in cocaine.
Obama and Santos had a friendly exchange over the fact that Santos was educated at both the University of Kansas, whose basketball team regularly competes for the U.S. collegiate national championship, and at Harvard.
"I was a little disappointed with him last year because I bet on them (the Kansas basketball team) winning it all and they lost. But he's already apologized to me on that," Obama said.
Santos said Obama's Republican opponents would probably look at Santos' education and declare that he was "educated in Kansas and corrupted in Harvard."
"Actually they think I was corrupted somewhere," Obama said. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Bill Trott)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
