Italian FM suggests EU arms ban on Egypt

Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino acknowledged Thursday evening that the European Union (EU) failed to influence the events in Egypt and defuse the worsening crisis. Speaking to reporters following her meeting with Egyptian Ambassador to Italy Amr Mustafa Kamal, Bonino suggested that the EU should halt arms supplies to Egypt in the wake of the forcible removal of two encampments of supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. "Indeed we tried to mediate with the differing parties in Egypt but it failed because the military accepted no compromises," Bonino said. She termed, for the first time, the events in Egypt in early July as "coup d'etat," noting that "the brutal repression in Egypt" is unacceptable and unjustifiable. On the planned meeting of the EU foreign ministers next week, Bonino affirmed that her country would suggest imposing an arms ban on Egypt.