US will not demand sky marshals

The United States will not force the issue of placing armed sky marshals on transatlantic airliners if Europe rejects such anti-terrorist precautions, an official said today.

Asa Hutchinson, US under-secretary for border and transportation security, told EU officials that Washington would look at all other safety precautions in case of a security threat, and move to the cancellation of a flight only as a last resort.