Speaking to The Malta Independent by telephone after a EU council of Ministers meeting yesterday, Dr Frendo said: “We discussed many issues, including the lifting of sanctions against Libya, the situation in the Middle East, China, Turkey and Iran.”

He said that the decision should allow Libya to purchase the necessary equipment to begin patrolling its coastline to help in the fight against illegal immigration.

“We also spoke of an EU action plan to show solidarity with the children who were infected with the HIV virus at a Benghazi hospital,” he said.

He said that the council of ministers had decided to adopt committed policies of discussion and engagement with Libya. “We want to see Libya re-integrate itself in the international scene and we hope that eventually, if it wants to, Libya will join the Euro-med process,” said Dr Frendo.

Speaking about the Middle East situation, Dr Frendo said that the EU condemned all acts of terror committed by Palestinian militants as well as the disproportionate retaliatory strikes in Gaza by Israel.

“The council is very perturbed by the situation in Palestine and Israel. It also expressed great concern at the retaliatory strikes by Israel as well as the terror attacks consisting of bombings and rocket attacks,” said Dr Frendo. The council, explained Dr Frendo, called for an immediate halt to hostilities in the area and for Israel to respect the Geneva Convention. He said that the council wanted to see a negotiated settlement that would see the creation of two neighbouring states, Israel and Palestine.

The discussions about China did not yield a conclusion but issues such as respect of human rights and the arms embargo were also spoken about.

There was also general discussion about potential human rights abuse in Iran as well as the problem of nuclear proliferation in the state. Turkey’s application to join the EU was also briefly discussed, but in the context of EU enlargement rather than specifically about the Muslim state.