Italy may soon be ready to support lifting the European Union's ban on arms sales to China. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said Monday, during a visit to China, that the issue should be resolved "as quickly as possible because it can't wait," the South China Morning Post reported. The embargo was imposed after the 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square and has, in the intervening years, become a sticking point in China's relationship with the EU. Beijing has been lobbying for the EU to lift the ban but member nations are torn on the issue with some opponents, including Britain, pointing to human rights abuses in China. The visit to China was Prodi's first overseas trip since being elected in April.
Categories