EU presidency: Gulf countries, Libya to replace Iran oil supplies

Gulf countries and Libya are ready to fill the gap in European Union oil supplies that an embargo on Iran would leave, the EU presidency said on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal of Denmark, which currently holds the EU presidency, confirmed that a decision on an embargo and sanctions on Iran's financial sector in response to its nuclear programme would be made on January 23, DPA reported. "Other countries in the Gulf - the Saudis, Kuwait etcetera - would be very interested in this situation in increasing their production. We know that Libya(ns) ... are on their way to restore the production they had before the war started," Soevndal told reporters in Copenhagen. This would soften the impact for EU countries that are most dependent on Iran for oil, such as Greece, Italy and Spain, he suggested. "We are of course aware that southern European countries are in a situation where they would be struck hard if there were no alternatives," Soevndal said. The international community was "working hard" on this issue, he added. EU foreign ministers still needed to discuss whether there would be a gradual phase in of an Iran oil embargo, in order to give Greece, Italy and Spain more time to adjust, Soevndal said. He insisted that the objective was to force Iran's leaders back to the negotiating table, and ruled out any military action against Iran, which is suspected of developing nuclear weapons. He also warned about the "real risk" of nuclear proliferation. "If Iran is going to have a nuclear weapon, I guess that other countries in the region are ready and we will get in a situation where (nuclear weapons) would spread very rapidly in the Middle East," the minister said.