European Union foreign ministers will meet this Tuesday by videoconference to discuss the situation in the Middle East. The meeting will be coordinated by the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, and will take place in Muscat, the capital of Oman.
Ahead of the European meeting, Josep Borrell, at the end of a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, called for the release of hostages and called for an end to hostilities on both sides, but admitted that the Hamas attack contributed negatively to peace building.
However, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy considers it urgent to end hostilities and prevent the crisis from spreading across the region. “The priority is to put an end to the violence and prevent a new regional escalation,” Borrell said, emphasizing that “it is of the utmost importance to guarantee the release of hostages, as well as the protection of civilians under all circumstances and by all parties”.
However, he believes that Hamas’ attack will negatively contribute to expectations of peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.
“What has happened since Saturday morning is shocking because of the suffering that this attack launched by Hamas has caused and continues to cause to innocent civilians, and because of the negative impact it will have on the ability of the two peoples to live side by side in peace and security,” thought Borrell, for whom “last Saturday marked a terrible crisis for the Middle East and the Gulf.”
Yet he understands that the peaceful path is the ‘only’ sustainable option. For this reason, he reiterates his “commitment to the two-state solution, because it is the only solution.” “We know of no other – based on the 1967 borders, in line with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant United Nations resolutions, which emphasize the importance of continued financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and continued humanitarian support and development for the Palestinians in the occupied territories,” he stressed.
Source: DN
