Brussels, March 25, IRNA -- EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana   
said Tuesday that the European bloc will not call for a ceasefire to  
halt the war in Iraq, but he hoped that the armed conflict will be    
short.                                                                
    "We want the conflict to be short as possible and minimize the    
suffering of the people," Solana told reporters after holding talks   
with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in Brussels this evening.   
    Asked by a reporter if the EU is going to call for a ceasefire,   
Solana replied, "At this point we are not going to do that. We have   
to see how things evolve in the coming days."                         
    For the moment the position of the EU is what was agreed by the EU
summit last week in Brussels, he added.                               
    The EU summit called for the preservation of the integrity of Iraq
and for the UN to play a central role in the reconstruction of Iraq.  
NK/BH/AR                                                              
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