The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, has said his statement on the meeting this week between President George W. Bush and the Israeli Prime Minister Mr Sharon have been "misrepresented" by some commentators in Ireland.
Referring to the US president's remarks on the "road map" peace plan for the Middle East, Mr Cowen said he was "troubled" by criticism that he should welcome any aspect of what President Bush had to say on the issue.
"My approach to President Bush's statement was quite straightforward. When President Bush said something that the EU could endorse, I welcomed it. Where there was a difference of perspective, I made that clear. This appears to have been widely understood elsewhere," Mr Cowen said.
In a statement issued as he attended a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Tullamore, Mr Cowen said his remarks appeared to have been "well received and properly understood internationally.
"Unfortunately, here in Ireland, it has been misrepresented by some commentators and by certain opposition spokesmen."
President Bush was criticised for what some commentators said was a concession on Israeli withdrawal from settlements in Gaza and a reversal of the road map plan.
Mr Cowen quoted from aspects of Mr Bush's statement that he said the EU could endorse, including the statement that the United States "supports the establishment of a Palestinian state that it is viable, contiguous, sovereign and independent".
But he said there were other points "on which the EU has a different approach. The fact remains that, in order to achieve lasting peace and security, Israel still has to reach agreement with the Palestinian people and its other Arab neighbours. It remains the case that Israel has to make peace with its enemies, not its friends."
Mr Cowen said everyone knew that any attempt to solve the conflict unilaterally would not bring lasting peace.