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EU ministers seek unity on arming Iraqi
Kurdistan
15.8.2014 |
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August 15, 2014
BRUSSELS,— EU ministers convene in
Brussels on Friday in a rare summertime meeting to
seek unanimous approval for the shipment of arms to
Iraqi Kurds fighting Islamic State jihadists.
The unscheduled gathering comes after days of
forceful demands by France, whose Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius criticised EU colleagues for
remaining on holiday while besieged civilians were
being killed in Iraq.
"When there are people dying... you have to come
back from your holidays," Fabius said earlier this
week, after writing a letter to EU foreign affairs
supremo Catherine Ashton demanding an extraordinary
meeting of ministers.
Italy, which currently holds the EU's rotating
leadership and whose foreign minister Federica
Mogherini is on the short-list to replace Ashton
this year, also called for talks.
"We're not talking about military intervention but
providing support, even of a military sort, to the
Kurdish government," she said.
Defence matters are strictly the purview of member
states and France and Britain have already announced
they will ship weapons to Iraqi Kurds struggling to
push back Islamic State fighters.
But alarming images of Iraqi minorities, including
Christians, under siege by jihadists have struck
chords in European capitals and France and Italy,
are leading the push for an EU-wide pledge for arms.
EU governments are also alarmed by the Islamic
State's ability to attract fighters from Europe who
then return home to the West battle-hardened from
jihad.
Ahead of Friday's meeting, support for a strong
message on arming Iraq was growing, even from member
states historically less inclined to back military
adventure abroad.
Usually cautious Germany this week pledged to work
"full-speed" on the supply of "non-lethal" equipment
such as armoured vehicles, helmets and flak vests to
Iraq.
Sweden, which is usually reluctant to participate in
military missions, seemed open to a more rigorous
response as well.
"Seems as if rescue mission planned for Mount Sinjar
in Iraq is no longer considered necessary," said
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt in a Tweet,www.Ekurd.net
in reference to the isolated hills where tens of
thousands of ethnic Kurdish Yazidis were believed to
be stranded.
"But general Islamic State threat certainly still
there," he added.
With about 20 of the EU's 28 foreign ministers
expected to be present, Fabius Tweeted Thursday that
the ministerial meeting was taking place "at my
initiative" in a thinly veiled dig at Ashton's
office.
A senior European official, speaking in the run-up
to the talks, deplored the "distorted" view of a
shut-down EU in August.
This was "at best unfair", he said. The European
Union "is not on holiday."
Earlier this week, the European Commission announced
it would boost humanitarian aid to Iraq to 17
million euros ($22 million), and greenlit special
emergency measures to meet the crisis.
But Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner Kristalina
Georgieva, also a frontrunner to replace Ashton,
said the real challenge in helping civilians was
access, not funding.
Also on the agenda will be the crises in Ukraine and
Gaza and a request by Spain to address the Ebola
outbreak in west Africa.
Copyright ©, respective author or news agency,
AFP
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