EU: No plans to withdraw all ambassadors from Syria

Joint action to remove all ambassadors from Syria is not on the European Union's agenda for the moment, dpa quoted a spokesman for the bloc's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton as saying Friday. "The issue of diplomatic representation in the country is of course under constant review by the member states, but there is no common line at this time," Michael Mann said in a statement. He was reacting to earlier press reports suggesting that Ashton would propose a collective withdrawal of ambassadors at a meeting next week of EU foreign ministers. Such suggestions are "totally wrong," Mann insisted. Some EU countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, have closed their embassies to protest against the crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad - but several other EU missions remain open. The EU's own delegation in Damascus is set to remain open, Mann said.