Mumbai: Foreign ministers of the EU member countries and Asian countries meeting in Hamburg, Germany, have stressed on the need for an international regime to counter climate change once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

A statement from Germany, which chaired a gathering of EU and Asian foreign ministers, said the meeting had stressed the need for "urgent action" to counter climate change. "Negotiations should be completed by 2009 at the latest," the statement added.

But Japan said it could not accept a 2009 target, sought by the German EU presidency, for such an agreement to be reached.

"The meeting ... stressed the need for a global and comprehensive post-2012 climate regime," it said, adding that this should be "in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities" - indicating that not all countries would be expected to move at the same pace.

Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Mitsui Sakaba said Tokyo could not accept the 2009 target and that big polluters such as the US, China and India should be included before any such timeframe was set.

The EU-Asian meeting brought together the 27 EU states with the 10 countries in the Association of South East Asian Nations, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, India and Pakistan.