COPENHAGEN, Feb 21: Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Tuesday that the conflict over Prophet Muhammad cartoons first published in his country had evolved into a clash between the entire European Union and the Muslim world.

“This affair is not just an issue between Denmark and the Muslim world. It has to a much greater degree evolved into an affair between the European Union and the Muslim world,” Rasmussen told journalists here.

“It is obvious to everybody that this crisis no longer just concerns these 12 drawings in Jyllands-Posten. It is now about completely different goals being pursued in the Muslim world,” Mr Rasmussen said.

On Tuesday, Mr Rasmussen said he did not expect the row to blow over anytime soon.

—AFP