EU Chief Sounds Alarm Over Middle East Spiral Toward All-Out War
"The region is stuck in phases of peace talks and fragile ceasefires. A return to full-scale war would come at tremendous cost to the entire region. All sides must come back to the negotiation table," Kallas said at a news briefing held alongside an EU defense ministers meeting in Nicosia, Greek Cypriot Administration.
Turning to maritime security, Kallas flagged mounting pressure on global freedom of navigation, announcing that EU member states in Brussels had approved sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities linked to disruption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
"This is the first time the EU has applied its new freedom of navigation sanctions regime, and where necessary, we will apply it again," she added.
Kallas also reaffirmed the importance of Operation Aspides in safeguarding Red Sea shipping lanes, signaling that the mission could extend its contribution to the France-British coalition operating in the strait once conditions on the ground permit.
New Sanctions Targeting Russia
On the Ukraine front, Kallas reported strong ministerial unity in backing Kyiv and intensifying pressure on Moscow, announcing a fresh wave of punitive measures was in the pipeline.
"For next week, Foreign Affairs Council, my services have proposed more than 80 new listings targeting Russia's military industrial complex, human rights violators, and propagandists," she announced.
Kallas noted that ministers had also explored avenues to deepen industrial cooperation with Ukraine, with a particular focus on air defense capacity. She confirmed that the bloc's €90 billion ($103 billion) loan package for Ukraine was primed for disbursement, with the first tranche of €5.9 billion earmarked specifically for drone procurement and set to be released this month.
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