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EU foreign ministers react to Abbas resignation
"Dangerous instability " for some , "very worrying" for others, Mahmoud Abbas's resignation sparked strong reactions on the final day of the EU foreign ministers meeting. Foreign policy head Javier Solana stayed brave, commission head Romano Prodi more circumspect;
Solana said no-one had expected the road to peace to be anything but bumpy, but Prodi said it was regrettable proof that extremiists on both sides were gaining the ascendency. More downbeat than most was the Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh, who rounded on US and Israeli policy with the palestinian leadership ; "Mr Arafat is of course responsible, as he has not given the prime minister enough authority, but great responsibilty must be borne by Israel , and the US who gave him the kiss of death", she said.
Britain's Jack Straw hailed the decision to put pressure on Hamas, naming it a terrorist organisation, as proof the EU was making positive contributiions to the peace process.
The Riva del Garda meeting has been dominated by the middle east at a time when EU foreign policy has much other important business and strict timetables to follow , but the middle east crisis is so acute it cannot be ignored.
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