KL condemns Europe over ASEM meetings

KL condemns Europe over ASEM meetings

MALAYSIA: Malaysia criticized European countries on Monday for canceling two meetings with Asian partners because of a rift over the attendance of military-ruled Myanmar.

"Just because they are not satisfied with one country it should not then cause the meetings to be abandoned. They should not try to impose conditions, it's not productive," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told a news conference.

A finance ministers' gathering next month of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) group in Brussels and a September meeting of ASEM economy ministers in Rotterdam have been canceled, casting doubt over an October summit.

The July 5 meeting of ASEM finance ministers would have been the first between the two regions since the European Union (EU) expanded from 15 to 25 nations last month. --AFP