EU urges calm over Syria

EU urges calm over Syria

Ministers have been preparing the ground for Wednesday's summit

European Union officials have called for restraint in the Middle East following suggestions by the United States that sanctions may be imposed on Syria over its alleged role in the Iraq crisis.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg that the region was going through a difficult time and efforts should be made to "cool down" the situation.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said a "constructive role" was needed in support of a search for a settlement.

We need to concentrate on winning the peace and not on getting into a new confrontation

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer

"Do not let us underestimate the fact that this region today - whether at government or popular level - is experiencing a very deep feeling of unease, frustration, sometimes even humiliation," he said.

The remarks came after officials in Washington accused Syria over the weekend of possessing weapons of mass destruction and harbouring members of the former Iraqi regime.

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who is visiting the Gulf, has also called for greater co-operation from Syria.

But Mr de Villepin also urged EU members to seek to heal divisions within Europe and improve relations with the US, which have been damaged by the war in Iraq.

"It is useless to go back to what divided us... let us look to the future," he said.

And German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Europe had to "concentrate on winning the peace and not on getting into a new confrontation".

Proposals for help

Monday's meeting was attended by 14 ministers - all except Mr Straw.

The EU may send troops to Iraq

They were preparing the ground for an EU summit in Athens on Wednesday and Thursday, which comes as the future role of the United Nations in Iraq is also being hotly debated.

Mr Solana and EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten proposed that the union help Iraq:

• With financial aid

• By developing civil society

• By co-operating with the UN and Nato to provide post-war security.

Earlier, French European Affairs Minister Noelle Lenoir said that EU member states could send troops to Iraq to keep order. Ms Lenoir told French radio that the EU's role in Iraq may not be limited to humanitarian aid, and that "nothing has been excluded".

Foreign ministers also decided at the meeting:

• To seek closer ties with nations which will become next-door neighbours after next year's expansion of the EU, while warning Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova that membership was not on the agenda

• New moves to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

• To request an assessment from the EU executive commission on Croatia's readiness to join

• To lift a ban on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and other senior officials

• To extend a visa blacklist and freezing of assets, and strengthen an arms embargo against Burma.

New members

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has cancelled visits to the UK, Germany, France and Russia to attend the Athens summit on Wednesday.

Europe's anti-war lobby, including France and Germany, will be brought together with supporters of the US-led campaign, such as UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

It will be the first meeting between Mr Blair and Mr Chirac since the war began.

"This is the kiss and make up summit," said Theodoros Koloumbis, head of the Hellenic Foundation for Defence and Foreign Policy.

On Wednesday, attention will be focused on the signing of the EU accession treaty by 10 new states, mostly from Eastern Europe, which are scheduled to join the EU in 2004.