Spanish
Brussels, June 17 (EFE).- The Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) reaffirmed this Tuesday that Israel and Iran must resolve their differences through diplomatic channels after several days of mutual military attacks and agreed to coordinate the evacuation of European citizens who wish to leave the region.
"It became clear that, now that the conversations between Iran and the United States have stalled, the EU and Europe as such have a role to play," said the head of the Community's diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, at a press conference after a meeting of ministers by videoconference to address the crisis in the Middle East.
The Estonian policy explained that the ministers called on all parties to respect international law, act with restraint, and avoid actions that could spiral out of control.
"We all agree on the urgent need to avoid escalation. Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, and diplomacy is the solution to avoid it, and the EU will play its role," he indicated.
In any case, following last week's report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which stated that Tehran has breached its non-proliferation obligations, he said that "we cannot be lenient when Iran accelerates its nuclear program."
"The European Union can and will play its role in reaching a diplomatic solution. We are in contact with Iran and Israel to avoid an escalation of the situation, because the stability of the region is in all of our interests. That is why we are also in contact with regional partners," commented the EU High Representative.
As a concrete result of today's video conference, Kallas pointed to the coordination of efforts to evacuate Europeans who are in the region and want to leave.
"We have activated civil protection mechanisms and are helping member states to evacuate their citizens who wish to leave. In parallel, we are prepared to deploy civil protection experts," he said, adding that the EU naval operation in the Red Sea, Aspides, will continue to protect merchant ships from attacks by the Houthi rebels of Yemen, Iran's partners.
The ministers also addressed the impact of this crisis on global energy markets and also made it clear that they will not stop focusing on Gaza.
"We reiterate our call for full and immediate access to aid, a ceasefire, and the release of the hostages," stated Kallas, who recalled that the situation in the Gaza Strip will be thoroughly discussed at the next Council of EU Foreign Ministers, next Monday in Brussels.
Then, there will also be discussion of the review - requested by most member states - of Israel's commitments to human rights arising from its association agreement with the EU, he added.
"Member States will also express what they want to do about it. The review is not ready yet, so it is being drafted," he said.
Kallas also referred to Russia as "not a mediator that can be truly considered" in the conflict between Israel and Iran, as its invasion of Ukraine demonstrates in his opinion.
"We have to take into account that Iran has helped Russia do this, also attacks against Ukraine, and their cooperation is working. Russia cannot be a mediator if it doesn't really believe in peace," he said, alluding to the fact that Russian aviation carried out "one of the most devastating attacks on Kyiv so far in the war, with 14 victims and many missing" yesterday.
