Luxembourg - European Union diplomats on Monday called for an investigation into allegations of fraud in Iran's presidential election - but stressed that they wanted better relations with the Islamic Republic. The allegations are "a matter that the Iranian authorities must address and investigate," the foreign ministers of the EU's 27 member states said in a joint statement after talks in Luxembourg.
Iran's post-election tensions were one of the key topics on a packed agenda Monday as the EU's foreign ministers debated the question of stability in the wider Middle East.
The statement said that the EU "expressed serious concern about the violence on the streets and the use of force against peaceful demonstrators," and that it is "essential that the aspirations of the Iranian people are achieved through peaceful means."
But ministers stopped short of calling for an international investigation into the affair, rather saying that it was for the Iranian regime to decide in the first instance.
"I hope that Iran will really look into all the complaints of irregularities. I have high respect for all the Iranian citizens who showed their discontent and demonstrated peacefully," EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.
She also called on Iran's security forces to "refrain from showing violence" against their own people.
Ministers also stressed that the EU's primary concern was to bring the Iranian regime back to the negotiating table on the question of its controversial nuclear programme.
"It remains a priority for the EU that Iran engages with the concerns of the world community, above all on the issue of Iran's nuclear programme," the statement said.
The EU's top diplomat, Javier Solana, also said that he was "concerned" by reports of ongoing violence.
But he urged Iran to work for new ties with the EU, saying that the bloc "would like to get engaged and continue to get engaged with the people of Iran and the leaders of Iran," especially on the nuclear issue, on which he is the West's top negotiator.
"We have a lot of things to do together," he said.
