The European Union (EU) and the US voiced concern on Tuesday over recent developments in Palestine and discussed ways to revive the so-called Middle East Peace Process.
“We talked about the Middle East and we shared our concerns about the vicious cycle of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories,” EU High Representative Josep Borrel told reporters ahead of the tenth EU-US Energy Council Ministerial Meeting in Brussels with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“The latest developments painfully demonstrate that the path towards the resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict is needed,” he stated and expressed his appreciation about the recent US-mediation efforts in Aqaba (in Jordan) and Sharm Al-Sheikh (in Egypt).
Borrell said he also shared with Blinken his efforts with partners in the Arab world to revive peace efforts by building on the Arab Peace initiative and having European peace contribution to it.
Further, the two sides discussed the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, Russia-China ties as well as the situation in Ethiopia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent decision to move nuclear weapons to Belarus poses a “direct threat to European security,” said Borrell.
“China has a moral duty to contribute to a fair peace. They cannot be siding with the aggressor. They cannot be militarily supporting the aggression. This is our message to China,” stressed the EU foreign policy chief.
He announced that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be in Beijing today with French President Emmanuel Macron, and added that he himself will also visit Beijing next week.
China’s support to Russia will “determine the quality of our relations with Beijing” he stressed.
This year’s EU-US Energy Council underlines unprecedented EU-US support for Ukraine, and to support energy security in Europe and how to accelerate green energy initiatives, said Borrell.
On his part, Blinken stressed that EU-US relations have “never been stronger or more important for advancing our shared interests.” He said the EU and US together with many countries around the world are cooperating to support Ukraine to defend itself from the Russian military invasion.
Blinken noted that Europe has spent USD 13 billion in military assistance to Ukraine on top of tens of billions more on economic and humanitarian assistance.
“Over the past year, the EU and US have thrown their energy cooperation into even higher gear,” said the US official.
He noted that in 2022, the US exported 56 billion cubic meters (bcm) of liquefied natural gas to Europe, adding that it constitutes 40 percent of Europe’s total imports and 140 percent increase of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe the previous year.
During today’s meeting, the two sides will discuss how to further reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, he said.
“As Borrell mentioned we also did something of a tour of the world, areas where our coordination can make a difference, from Ethiopia to the Central African Republic to the Middle East,” said Blinken.
Source: Kuwait News Agency