BRUSSELS, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The United States and Europe should respond to the row over cartoons of Islam's Prophet Mohammad by intensifying efforts to nurture Middle East reform, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Tuesday.
Accusing authorities in Iran and Syria of stoking popular anger at the pictures, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Dan Fried said the dispute showed the need for moderate Muslims to gain a greater voice in the region.
"One of our responses in this case should be to do more to support democracy, reform and reformers," said Fried, who was in Europe to consult with governments on how to ease tensions sparked by cartoons printed in many European newspapers.
"(We should) not let it be thought that the only voices in the Middle East in response to these cartoons are the voices of thoughtless or cynical, manipulative extremism, because I am convinced they are not," Fried told a news conference.
The European Union has a decade-old partnership with 10 Mediterranean basin countries spanning trade, aid and political and cultural dialogue, while President George W. Bush has outlined a vision of spreading democracy in the Middle East.
Analysts say the results of the EU's "Barcelona Process" have been modest, and note that recent elections in the region -- for example, Hamas's victory in January's Palestinian polls -- have produced results at odds with U.S. interests.
Fried denied the rise of Hamas and the cartoon controversy showed U.S. policy in the region was failing, urging Hamas to renounce violence and back the internationally-backed "roadmap" outlining steps to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While welcoming diplomatic steps to ease anger over the cartoons such as EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana's tour of Muslim states this week, Fried said there was no quick fix.
"This is going to take a while to resolve, the issues are not simple ones ... The solution is longer term," he said.
