The Minister for Foreign Affairs has expressed concern to US President George W Bush about the abuse inflicted on Iraqi prisoners by soldiers serving with the coalition forces.
Mr Brian Cowen was attending a meeting of G8 foreign ministers in Washington today in his capacity as President of the EU Council of Ministers. The meeting was in preparation for the next G8 Summit, which takes place in Sea Island, Georgia next month.
The Taoiseach and the EU Commission president Mr Romano Prodi will represent the EU at the event.
Before the meeting, the ministers were invited to meet Mr Bush at the White House.
Speaking following the meeting, Mr Cowen said: "While the main focus of our meeting was to prepare for the Sea Island G8 Summit, discussion of the situation in Iraq was high on our agenda.
"I and a number of my colleagues underlined our particular concern about the abuse inflicted on Iraqi prisoners by members of the coalition forces, which are a clear breach of the Geneva Conventions and undermine the principles on which our democracies are founded. President Bush condemned these abuses in the strongest terms and outlined the actions being taken to deal with it."
During a subsequent meeting at the State Department, the foreign ministers discussed the situation in Iraq, the Middle East Peace process, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Haiti and the expansion on peacekeeping capabilities, particularly in Africa. The ministers also discussed initiatives under preparation for the Sea Island Summit on a partnership for progress and reform with the Middle East.
The US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell and the British Foreign Secretary Mr Jack Straw reported on work underway in New York in preparation for a new UN Security Council resolution on Iraq.
"There was general agreement that the ideas being developed by the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative Mr Lakhdar Brahimi should provide a good basis for the hand over of sovereignty envisaged for 30 June, and there was general support for the resolution setting out clearly an increased role for the UN going forward," Mr Cowen said.
"All agreed that the earliest possible assumption of sovereignty by the people of Iraq would be the best guarantee for peace and stability in Iraq and the wider region.
"We also discussed developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The further bloodshed in Gaza in recent days underlined the importance of establishing a ceasefire and beginning the implementation of the roadmap, as agreed by the Quartet when we met in New York on May 4th."