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| NATO, EU ambassadors discuss Libya at rare joint gathering |
| 07.05.11 09:14 |
Africa |
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European Union and NATO ambassadors convened in Brussels on Friday for a rare joint meeting that was officially meant to address the crisis in Libya, but which diplomats said would mostly help strengthen the relationship between the two sides.
A statement from the military alliance only said that an exchange (of) views on the broad international response to the Libyan crisis took place, noting that it is an issue of great concern to both organizations.
Top EU and NATO representatives have met frequently in the past, but meetings involving representatives from all 28 NATO members and 27 EU countries are unusual.
Turkey, a member of NATO, had previously blocked formal meetings with the EU, of which Cyprus is a member. Cyprus, whose northern part has been occupied by Turkey since 1974, has in turn repeatedly blocked Turkeys attempts to join the European Defence Agency.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called for the two organizations to cooperate more closely.
Turkey agreed to Fridays gathering under the condition that the talks be informal and reach no official decisions, diplomats had said at an EU-NATO meeting in Berlin last month.
According to them, the discussion was supposed to be about ways of increasing political pressure on Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi.
NATO has led international military operations in Libya since early April. The EU has been planning for a humanitarian military mission in the North African country that, however, has yet to receive a green light from the United Nations. |
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