EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned Monday that renewed escalation between the United States and Iran posed a serious risk, while a fresh confrontation would benefit neither side.
Kallas spoke in Paris after the European Group of Five defense ministers’ meeting. She said the agenda included European defense readiness and maritime security, alongside Middle East issues. At a news conference, she said “any new escalation would only have losers.”
Kallas credited Operation Aspides, the EU’s naval mission, with supporting Red Sea cargo and oil traffic. She thanked France, Italy and Greece for contributing to the mission.
More than 60 countries backed the EU’s opposition to tolls and fees on international shipping, Kallas said, adding that navigation should remain unimpeded. EconoTimes previously covered Operation Aspides’ capacity limits after escort requests outnumbered available ships.
For Lebanon, Kallas described an EU mission being established to train and advise its armed forces and internal security units, with territorial control and border and internal security among its aims. The bloc was preparing more sanctions, she said, and called for stronger action against Russia’s shadow fleet.
