EU talks tough with Iran, Syria as US ponders

BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (Reuters) The European Union today accused Iran and Syria of destabilising the West Asia just as the United States is contemplating whether to talk to Tehran and Damascus in an effort to end violence in Iraq.

In a significant hardening of the 25-nation bloc's tone, EU leaders charged that Iran was harming security in the region with its nuclear programme and threats towards Israel.

They also also told Syria to stop interfering in Lebanon if it wanted normal relations with the international community.

''The European Council expresses its concern about the negative impact of Iranian policies on stability and security in the Middle East,'' a summit statement said. It also condemned Iran's questioning of the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews.

''Syria must end all interference in Lebanese internal affairs and actively engage in the stabilisation of Lebanon and the region,'' the leaders said.

The statement came as US President George W. Bush is under strong pressure to accept the recommendation of a bipartisan Iraq Study Group to talk to Tehran and Damascus in a bid to stabilise Iraq and help extricate US forces.

The EU declaration on Iran reflected disillusion after three years of fruitless negotiations between Europe's three leading powers -- Britain, France and Germany -- and Iran on the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, which the West suspects is aimed at developing atomic weapons.

Talks collapsed in October when Iran rejected UN demands that it suspend uranium enrichment activities that it says are for civilian energy purposes.

''DESTABILISATION OFFENSIVE'' Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has stirred an outcry by referring to Nazi Germany's killing of 6 million Jews in World War Two as a ''myth'', told a Tehran conference questioning the Holocaust that Israel's days were numbered.

The statement on Lebanon reflected a victory for the hard line advocated by French President Jacques Chirac over countries such as Italy and Germany that support dialogue with Damascus.

In remarks to the summit distributed to journalists, Chirac condemned what he called ''a destabilisation offensive'' against the elected government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

The Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah movement, backed by Syria and Iran, and other pro-Syrian opposition groups have staged mass protests to try to topple the Western-backed Siniora government.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi noted differences within the EU over how to deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

''If Europe were united, it would be stronger in the world. In Europe, we agree with Germany and Britain that we need to speak with Assad. France is very intransigent on any contact,'' he told reporters.

He was responding to an interview in Rome's La Repubblica daily in which the Syrian leader said the United States and Europe must talk to his country and Iran if they wanted a comprehensive solution to Iraq and other West Asia conflicts.

The EU urged Israel to stop violations of Lebanese airspace with overflights that have created tension with the mainly European UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

It demanded Syria recognise and cooperate with a special tribunal for Lebanon, created to try those responsible for the murder of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri last year.

Hariri was a close friend of Chirac. His assassination sparked mass protests that forced the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon under United Nations pressure.

Reuters SY GC2050