Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz is currently experiencing a “strange state between war and peace,” stressing that respecting freedom of navigation in the strait is in everyone’s interest because “everyone pays a very high price for it.”
Speaking to reporters ahead of the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Limassol, Kallas said the ministers would discuss the situation in the Middle East, its impact on Europe, and ways to cooperate on these issues.
Regarding Russia, Kallas said that “not much is happening” in the peace negotiations at the moment, noting that Russia is “in a declining position” on the battlefield.
She added that EU foreign ministers are discussing the bloc’s “core interests and demands” regarding Russia, emphasizing that when negotiations begin, “it must be very clear what we are doing there and what the essence of what we want to discuss is.”
Kallas said it is in Europe’s interest to achieve a “long-term, sustainable, and lasting peace,” noting that lasting peace “includes elements such as accountability.”
Responding to a question about the possible appointment of a special EU envoy for negotiations, Kallas said the issue “is not a matter of being invited to the table,” adding that lifting sanctions on Russia “is a European decision,” and therefore the European Union has “a very clear interest” in these matters.
