The European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, expressed concern on Monday about the escalation of tensions between Israel and Lebanon and urged leaders meeting this week at the United Nations to mediate to avoid “all-out war”.
The head of European diplomacy held informal meetings with European foreign ministers on Monday on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York, and said that a central issue was the exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah and the inability of the Security Council to “take decisions.”
In a media briefing after that meeting, Borrell addressed the latest developments in the Middle East conflict and said: “We are still hoping and working to stop this escalation, but the worst-case scenario, I have to say, is materialising and the worst expectations are coming true.
He stressed that since last Tuesday in Lebanon, 500 people have died and 4,400 have been injured, many of them women and children, which he considers an “unacceptable price” and “a war situation”, even if there has been no land invasion, which requires “renewing diplomatic mediation efforts”.
“And here in New York, it is time to do it, everyone must put all their capacities to stop this path towards war,” he warned, stressing that “the path towards peace begins with a single step, the ceasefire in a loop.”
“We continue to call for an immediate ceasefire on the Blue Line and in Gaza. “They are not different, they are linked: what happens in Gaza triggers other war scenarios in Lebanon, in the Red Sea (…) and in the West Bank, openly called Judea and Samaria by the Israeli authorities,” he said.
Asked about the US’ ability to influence Israel, Borrell acknowledged that so far diplomacy “has not succeeded in stopping the war” and said that “in the negotiation, both sides are procrastinating.”
And referring to past conflicts in Lebanon, he recalled that “diplomatic pressure has been accompanied by, let’s say, incentives. And so far, that’s not the case. Why should I change my behavior if I don’t pay fines, why should I change if there are no consequences? “This week, we’ll talk about it,” he added.
Borrell also spoke about a diplomatic dinner held Sunday night on “prospects for peace in the Middle East” and noted that one of the unidentified participants said that we must “start talking about a political solution without waiting for a ceasefire because that may never happen.”
Similarly, he said it was necessary to understand “who is doing what” in the conflict, considered Iran’s influence on Lebanese politics to be “evident” and considered it essential that the EU maintain “lines of communication” with Iran, confirming that he would meet his Iranian counterpart this week to “talk about everything, and particularly the nuclear pact.”
