European - Islamic Forum aims to bridge differences

Foreign ministers from Europe are to meet their counterparts from Islamic countries at a forum in Istanbul on Tuesday which is…

Foreign ministers from Europe are to meet their counterparts from Islamic countries at a forum in Istanbul on Tuesday which is aimed at bridging differences between Islam and the West after the September 11th attacks.

Turkish officials say the aim of the forum is to combat the growing impression that the Muslim world and the West are involved in a clash of civilisations.

By understanding each other better as countries and through dialogue and solidarity between those that seem different, the future of the world will be a brighter one, Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said on today.

Ministers from the EU and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will discuss the topic of Civilisation and Harmony but the meeting will be overshadowed by questions about elusive peace in the Middle East and whether Washington's war on terrorism will spread to Turkey's neighbour Iraq.

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The meeting in Istanbul comes just days after an informal conference of European Union foreign ministers in Spain which highlighted differences between European and US views on Middle East peacemaking.

Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique said there should be more emphasis on politics rather than security, indicating that it was not realistic to demand a complete halt to violence before negotiations can restart as Israel wants.

The Palestinian Authority's ambassador to Ankara, Fuad Yaasin, said it was a very crucial moment.

The EU has sought to maintain an even-handed approach to the Middle East, where a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation has raged since September 2000.

Although the EU has repeatedly called on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to clamp down on militancy, it rejects Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's attempts to sideline him and has been irked by Washington's willingness to follow suit.

Turkey too has tried to maintain a balanced approach, and Cem recently said the bloodshed amounted to mutual suicide and called for a return to dialogue.

Speakers at the forum include OIC Secretary-General Abdelouahed Belkeziz, Arab League chief Amr Moussa, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Pique, foreign minister of Spain which currently holds the EU presidency.

Key countries in the Middle East such as Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Syria are all due to send their foreign ministers.

Foreign ministers from Afghanistan and Pakistan are also due to attend the meeting. A topic likely to be uppermost in the minds of delegates including Iraq's foreign minister is whether more countries will be caught up in Washington's self-declared war on terrorism.