BRUSSELS (EJP)--- European Union leaders condemned Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s statements denying the Holocaust and stressed Iran’s destabilizing role in the Middle East.

In a statement adopted at their two-day summit meeting on Friday, they declared : “The EU condemns any denial of the Holocaust as a historical fact, either in whole or in part, and therefore firmly rejects the underlying premise and the objectives of the conference on the Holocaust organized”.

The statement was referring to the conference on the Holocaust which took place earlier this week in Tehran with the presence of some of the world most notorious revisionist historians.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has stirred an international outcry by referring to the Holocaust of six million Jews by the Nazis as a “myth”, this week predicted that the state of Israel would suffer the same fate as the Soviet Union.

In the same statement, the 25 EU heads of state and government, who met under Finnish presidency, expressed their deep concern about Iran’s threats towards Israel, the “continuing deterioration of human rights and political freedoms” in Iran as well as the “negative impact of Iranian policies on stability and security in the Middle East.”

“We want Iran to play a constructive role,” Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief, told reporters.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stirred an international outcry by referring to the Holocaust of six million Jews by the Nazis as a “myth”. He predicted that the state of Israel would suffer the same fate as the Soviet Union.

The EU threatened Iran with economic sanctions if Iran fails to suspend its program of uranium enrichment.

“In the absence of action by Iran to meet its obligations, the European Council supports work in the Security Council towards the adoption of measures under Article 41 of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.”

Middle East peace process

In a separate statement, the EU leaders also noted that the Middle East “is faced with one of the worst crises in years.”

They welcomed the readiness of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime minister Ehud Olmert to resume dialogue and urged them “to meet soon”.

The EU also invited the other members of the Quartet of Mideast peace negotiators (US, UN and Russia) and the regional partners "to intensify common efforts aimed at reinvigorating the peace process."

The Europeans repeated calls for Palestinian and Lebanese kidnappers to release three Israeli soldiers being held hostage since summer and urged Israel to "stop violations of Lebanese airspace by the Israeli air force".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will chair the European Union Council from January 1, 2007.

Earlier this week, in an address to the Bundestag (Parliament), German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged EU member states to speak in one "strong voice" in coping with international issues.

"We face enormous problems in the Middle East," she noted, adding that Germany hoped to revive in the first half of 2007 the Mideast Quartet of negotiators that formulated the long-stalled "roadmap" peace plan headed by the U.S., the EU, the United Nations and Russia.

German will take over the EU rotating presidency from Finland on January 1, 2006.

Merkel also defended a trip to Syria last week by foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. She said that unusual steps were needed for mediating in the Middle East.

Although the visit failed to achieve desired success, "it was symbolic for the understanding of the foreign policy of the entire German government," she said.

This understanding included readiness to hold a dialogue with countries such as Syria and Iran based on a clear set of values and principles, Merkel stressed.