The European Union will ask US President-elect Barack Obama to start working on a solution for the Mideast crisis as soon as he is sworn into office on January 20, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Thursday.
Speaking ahead of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Prague, Frattini said the 27-nation bloc believes Obama should not just aim to obtain a ceasefire between Israelis and Hamas.
He should also make every effort to block the supply of arms to Hamas and work towards the resumption of the peace process.
''The Middle East also includes Iran,'' said Frattini, stressing that Teheran's nuclear enrichment programme will be up for discussion at the first meeting between the EU and the new administration in Washington which the Czech EU duty presidency is planning to organise.
Frattini said it was important ''to understand what stance'' Obama will take on Iran.
Iran claims its nuclear enrichment programme is peaceful and aimed only at producing electricity but Western nations suspect Tehran is building an atomic bomb.
Obama said in a TV interview in December that he may consider opening direct talks with Iran, offering it economic incentives if it halts its nuclear programme.
He has, however, warned that sanctions against Iran could be toughened if it refuses.
