Brussels - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton discussed the future of detainees in the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison with European Union officials in Brussels on Friday in the highest-level talks to date on the subject.

"I thanked the EU for working with us to determine a policy regarding detainees from Guantanamo ... If we determine that it would be appropriate for a particular detainee to be relocated, we will discuss that with our friends and partners, like the EU," she said.

"When we are ready to do so, we will have that conversation," the former first lady said.

Clinton was speaking after talks with the EU's top diplomat, Javier Solana, and top officials from the European Commission, the EU's executive, and the Czech Republic, which currently holds the bloc's rotating presidency.

EU member states have warmly welcomed the decision by US President Barack Obama to close the Guantanamo jail, which was widely seen in Europe as a flagrant breach of human rights.

But they remain guarded on the question of whether they should take in former detainees who cannot return to their homelands for fear of torture.

Many member states say that Guantanamo was created by the US, and it is therefore up to the US to give the detainees a new home. (dpa)