BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

EU Ministers Continue Discussions

16 April 2005 -- Foreign ministers of the 25 European Union member states are continuing an informal meeting in Luxembourg today, with talks on the Middle East peace process.

The ministers are discussing the current state of Israeli-Palestinian relations, and exploring ways in which Brussels can support efforts for peace and the dialogue between the two sides.

The ministers are also set to meet with their counterparts from the EU candidate nations of Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, and Turkey.

Yesterday, the ministers condemned what they called the continuing "dictatorship" in Belarus. They issued a statement saying that Brussels will take "action to rapidly implement measures in the short and medium term to help open Belarus society."

However, they failed to reach agreement on lifting the bloc's 16-year-old arms embargo against China.

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/04/24b3ec14-d131-4086-82ae-50f0ad6ada73.html