European Union foreign ministers today buried talk of sanctions against Israel over its crushing West Bank offensive and instead rallied behind US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell's peace mission.
Diplomats said the 15 nations were also set to reject a call by the European Commission for an emergency meeting with Israel to exert pressure on it to withdraw its forces from Palestinian areas.
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"To my mind it is a non-starter without Chairman Arafat or unless it's accepted by the Palestinians," one senior diplomat said.
"It looks like something more should be put on the table for an international conference." In Paris, French President Mr Jacques Chirac said any such conference should include the EU, the United Nations and Russia, and the European Commission made the same point.
"We welcome the general idea that there should be a conference getting all the parties, I emphasise all the parties, around the table," European Commission spokesman Mr Jonathan Faull told a news briefing in Brussels.
Spanish Foreign Minister Mr Josep Pique, whose country holds the EU presidency, warned Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon that he would run out of mediators very soon if he only met those who agreed with his views on ending months of violence.
Mr Pique made the comment after Mr Sharon and Mr Powell yesterday discussed the Israeli leader's proposal for a regional peace conference under US auspices, but failed to mention the European Union.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ms Anna Lindh said the time was not right for such a conference anyway, and an Israeli withdrawal was the first thing needed.