NEW DELHI, Nov 29: The European Union on Saturday hailed the latest peace initiative between India and Pakistan as signs of arriving peace in the region but it remained discreetly neutral over New Delhi’s stance over alleged cross-border terrorism as an impediment to serious talks.

A joint press statement at the end of a stepped down summit between Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and top representatives of EU Commission and Council spoke out against terrorism, but it refrained from targeting Pakistan. Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi, the current EU president, took ill and did not visit New Delhi.

“The EU warmly welcomed Prime Minister Vajpayee’s extending the hand of friendship to Pakistan in April 2003 and the latest peace initiatives through a series of wide-ranging steps taken and proposals made for enhancing interaction between the people of the two countries which would be essential for creating an atmosphere of trust and cooperation,” the EU-India statement said.

“The EU welcomed the ceasefire recently agreed upon between both parties as a further step towards the normalization of India-Pakistan relations. The EU expressed the hope that the process could be continued and differences between the two countries resolved peacefully through dialogue.

“We reiterated the unacceptability of use of terrorism in pursuit of political goals. India stated emphatically that there could be no negotiations until cross-border terrorism ends,” the statement said.

“We agreed that terrorism is a global phenomenon that transcends border and region and can target any country. We expressed the belief that there can be no justification whatsoever for terrorism, and we support the fight against international terrorism, wherever it occurs and regardless of its motives,” the statement said.

In Afghanistan, the statement said, both sides strongly support the efforts of President Hamid Karzai’s government to promote national reconciliation and build a peaceful, united and independent Afghanistan.

We expressed concern at the continuing threats to security and stability in Afghanistan and expressed support for all measures, including those contained in UNSC Resolution No 1510, aimed at improving maintenance of peace and security and consolidation of authority in and outside Kabul,” the statement said.

“We remain committed to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan in partnership with the government and people of that country, while stressing that non-interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan is a crucial factor in the return of peace and stability,” the statement said.

AFP adds: India and the European Union also sought a key role for the United Nations in restoring stability in Iraq.

A joint statement at the end of the fourth India-EU summit said both sides “stressed the importance of the central role played by the United Nations in the restoration of peace and normalcy and reconstruction and rehabilitation” of Iraq.

India and the EU “emphasized the urgency of the adoption of a clearly laid-out political process within a realistic time-frame ... to allow the Iraqi people to determine their own political future and retain effective control of their economic resources.”

A number of EU members, notably France and Germany, have called on Washington to lay out a timetable for returning power to the Iraqi people.

But the United States also has the support of a section of European countries — Britain, Spain and the EU’s current president Italy — who have sent troops to Iraq as part of the US-led effort to restore peace there.

EU External Relations Commissioner Christopher Patten said in an interview published Saturday in the Hindu newspaper that an unstable Iraq would act as a magnet for terrorists.

“My own view is that we have to see a transfer to a credible set of Iraqi institutions as soon as possible,” he said.

Patten also warned that pushing Syria and Iran into a corner could be counter-productive.

“I actually think while there is some way to go to ensure that the agreement we now have with Iran is watertight, our approach has been extremely successful. And that it is better to engage Iran and Syria than seek to isolate them or bully them,” Patten said.

The United States has put pressure on Syria since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, and the US Congress voted on November 12 for a bill levying economic and political sanctions against Syria, which must be signed by President George W Bush to take effect.

Patten said tackling “terrorism” required “an adequate security response as well as an adequate political response”.

“I also have no doubt that unless we’d been prepared to try to find political accommodation, unless we had addressed real issues of social grievance, we wouldn’t have got a settlement. So it’s a question of combining all these things,” he said. —AFP