Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh (L) watches as Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi whips out an Arabic dagger ‘khanjar’ which Saleh presented as a gift during a meeting at the premier’s official residence in Tokyo, 7 November 2005 (AFP)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) – Britain”s Foreign Secretary Jack Straw indicated Monday the European Union was not inviting Syrian President Bashar Assad to a special Euro-Mediterranean summit later this month to mark the 10th anniversary of closer ties between the two regions.
The move was seen as a protest against insufficient Syrian cooperation with the U.N. inquiry into the Feb. 14 killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Straw, whose country holds the EU presidency, did not answer when asked if Assad was invited, but said Syria”s Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa "is being invited in the normal way to the Euro-Med meeting."
Other EU officials confirmed Assad would not be invited.
The summit is to draw leaders from across Europe, North Africa and Middle Eastern countries that border the Mediterranean to mark a decade of building closer cooperation. During that time, the EU has given billions of euros (dollars) in aid to encourage political and economic reforms and regional integration.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said that the EU foreign ministers reiterated demands "that Syria cooperates with the (U.N.) inquiry," into Hariri”s death.
Syria has to take this demand seriously," Douste-Blazy told reporters, adding the 25-nation bloc "will judge Syria on its actions."
EU nations have threatened sanctions against Damascus if it does not cooperate.
The EU foreign ministers called on Syria to "cooperate unconditionally" with the U.N. probe, and to "take immediate action to promote regional stability," to work with the government in Lebanon and to end support to Palestinian militant groups based in Syria.
A report last month by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, investigating the killing for the United Nations, implicated top Syrian and Lebanese security officials in Hariri”s assassination and accused Syria of not cooperating fully with the investigation.
"As to decisions by the (U.N.) Security Council, if by the 15th of December Detlev Mehlis puts forward a report in respect to non-cooperation by Syria then we will have to wait and see," Straw said.
Assad has launched a Syrian investigation. Damascus said Monday it was considering a request by U.N. investigators that they be allowed access to six Syrian government officials about the Hariri assassination.
A school bus stops in front of a Syrian flag mounted on building in Damascus November 7, 2005 (REUTERS)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, April 13, 2005 (REUTERS)