Terrorism must be fought within UN framework: Asian, EU leaders

Terrorism must be fought within UN framework: Asian, EU leaders

Agencies, Copenhagen

European and Asian leaders said that the global fight against terrorism must be conducted within the framework of the United Nations as they met for talks on Monday including discussion of possible U.S. strikes on Iraq.

"The fight against terrorism must be based on the principles of the UN Charter and basic norms of international law," leaders from the European Union and 10 Asian countries agreed at an Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Copenhagen.

Heads of state and senior government members from the 25 nations vowed "to work together to combat this threat to global peace and security, sustainable economic development and political stability," in their first such meeting since the Sept. 11 attacks.

The agreement followed talks including the possibility of U.S.-led military action against Iraq, according to a senior EU source, although the Danish EU presidency refused to comment on the issue.

"We emphasize the importance of sustaining the momentum of international cooperation against terrorism and the leading role of the United Nations," said the text.

The declaration appeared to be a possible snub to Washington, after U.S. President George W. Bush insisted last week that "if the United Nations Security Council won't deal with the problem, the United States and some of our friends will."

But the EU-Asian statement said: "It is essential that the international community steadily continue efforts" to improve "international cooperation in anti-terrorism activities, including regional... as well as bilateral cooperation."

Leaders from the two continents -- representing over two billion people -- also expressed concern at the continuing Israeli siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, a spokesman for the EU's Danish presidency said.

"Statements that were made expressed concern about the present situation in Ramallah," said the spokesman, while adding that the Middle East was not discussed at length.

Following on from talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Sunday, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung told delegates at the summit's opening ceremony that recent dramatic changes in North Korea point toward the unification of the peninsula.

His comments came amid a call for increased diplomatic efforts to bring the communist state's pariah status to an end, a day after the Japanese and South Korean leaders urged the United States to pursue dialog with Pyongyang.

Koizumi briefed his South Korean counterpart on Sunday on his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during a visit on Sept. 17, the first ever visit by a Japanese prime minister to North Korea.

The Japanese visit has thrown the diplomatic spotlight on the United States, with Bush labeling North Korea part of an "axis of evil."

Kim also sought backing for his envisioned "Iron Silk Road" to connect the two continents and said rooting out poverty was key in the fight against international terrorism.

He said moves to restore road and railway links between the two Koreas, which began last week, had "many important ramifications" in ties between the two neighbors, which are still technically at war nearly 50 years after an armistice halted a bloody conflict.

"The most significant of all is that the reconnection of the railways will reduce military tension substantially," he said.

The summit, the fourth since 1996, draws leaders from the 15 EU nations, Japan, China, South Korea and seven members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations - Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Trade between the EU and their Asian partners has surged to nearly 361 billion euros (dollars) in 2001, up 40 percent from 1997 when a financial crisis swept Asian nations.

EU-Asia summits aim to foster closer ties to rival U.S. trade and political links with Asia.

The 15 European Union members are Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Britain, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.