EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton had a telephone call with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zebari (Tuesday night) during which bilateral relations were discussed.
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| EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton had a telephone call with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zebari |
Minister Ashton expressed the concern of the European Union for the future of Ashraf camp residents.
In a statement by Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Minister Ashton said " the European Union is keen to develop and activate its relations with Iraq according to the agreement signed between the two sides, which reached its final stages for ratification".
"The EU is keen to cooperate in the fields of oil and gas", Ashton added in the statement.
Zebari expressed the stand and decision of the Iraqi government "to close the camp by the end of this year" and to demand from European countries "to accept the residents of the camp in their countries."
"The Iraqi government will abide by its humanistic obligations towards the inhabitants of the camp," Zebari added.
The "time is ripe to solve the question of Ashraf camp residents, particularly when considered that the Iraqi constitution does not accept any foreign organizations that defy its sovereignty and jurisdictions," he added.
Zebari extended an invitation to Minister Ashton to visit Iraq, the statement noted.
