EU Council President Costa criticizes US decision: Blockades are never the solution

European Union (EU) Council President Antonio Costa made statements to the press during his visit to the United Arab Emirates. Criticizing the US decision to impose a blockade on all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports, Costa said, "A blockade is never the solution. One blockade cannot be solved with other blockades."

Costa stated, "In my view, the right path is to build a broad coalition to ensure full respect for freedom of navigation and the law of the sea in the Strait of Hormuz, as 80 countries have done through the initiative of the UK and France."

Regarding US President Donald Trump's criticism that Europe is acting slowly and not strongly enough on the Strait of Hormuz issue, Costa said, "We are acting in the right way. The right path is to address this matter within the framework of full respect for international law and multilateralism."

Addressing the objection that China and Russia have blocked the path to an international solution with their vetoes in the UN Security Council, Costa said, "This is one of the main reasons why we are in contact with all countries in the world. Because China, Russia, and others—and I believe the US understands this too—know that this issue should be managed not by imposing a new blockade or acting outside of international law, but within the framework of international law and with a clear mandate from the UN."

"I hope China will steer negotiations"

When asked about China's role in ending the conflict, Costa said, "China is in a special situation. Because China is suffering from this war not only due to price increases but also due to shortages in oil and gas supply. Therefore, I hope that China will play a positive role in this crisis and steer everyone toward negotiations. It seems they have also helped in bringing Iran to the negotiating table. Talks must continue to reach an agreement, and China also needs to pressure Iran to lift the blockade and restore freedom of navigation."

"We support the Lebanese army"

In response to a question about what Europe can do to ensure the success of the Israel-Lebanon talks mediated by the US, Costa replied, "We hope for this, but at the same time, we are doing two important things. First, we are supporting the Lebanese army to provide it with the necessary capacity. Our goal is to ensure the army's effective control and to disarm Hezbollah. On the other hand, we are providing 100 million euros in humanitarian aid to the Lebanese people."

Stating that the Lebanese government had taken a historic decision to ban Hezbollah's military activities just before the war, Costa said, "Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. That is why we support the Lebanese army. Of course, we support and respect Israel's right to self-defense. However, this right must be exercised within the framework of international law."

Acknowledging that Israel has violated international law in Lebanon, Costa responded to the question of whether this was the same as in Gaza with the words, "Yes. Unfortunately."