Obama tells Cameron he's not seeking to undermine BP

US President Barack Obama told British Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday that he had no interest in undermining the value of BP following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.The two leaders said BP should continue to work intensively to deal with what they called a human and environmental catastrophe when they discussed the issue in a 30-minute phone call, according to Cameron's office. They put on a show of unity after the issue had threatened to cause a diplomatic rift between Obama and the new British prime minister. President Obama said to the Prime Minister that his unequivocal view was that BP was a multinational global company and that frustrations about the oil spill had nothing to do with national identity, Cameron's office said in a statement. The Prime Minister stressed the economic importance of BP to the UK, US and other countries. The President made clear that he had no interest in undermining BP's value, it added. The two leaders discussed the crisis against the backdrop of public anger and political pressure on both sides of the Atlantic over the spill, which has fouled coastlines, closed rich fishing grounds and battered BP's share price, and more than halved its market value since the crisis began. BP has been the target of stinging attacks by the White House and its share price has gyrated on London and New York stock exchanges this week. Obama administration officials have threatened to increase BP's liabilities for the spill.