On Monday 19 June, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that at their Council, the EU member states’ foreign ministers had called for dialogue with Qatar on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt on the other.
After the Council, Mogherini said she encouraged the parties to de-escalate and above all, encouraged all countries to commit to a political dialogue without preconditions by accepting Kuwait’s mediation. The High Representative said she believed that the region had the strength and wisdom needed to find a political solution to the crisis and while she did not feel it would be solved immediately, all the parties have a strong interest in finding a rapid solution around the negotiating table. Mogherini made a strong appeal to her friends to ensure reason prevails and to find a way of settling any disagreements. Earlier in the day, she expressed concern about trouble spreading in the region, adding that the spread of dangerous upset was being seen in the wider region, Africa and Asia.
Mogherini pointed out the EU’s interest in stability and unity in the Gulf region because its countries are partners in the fight against terrorism and the fight against the financing of terrorism.
Upon arrival at the Council, Belgium’s Foreign Minister Didier Reynders went further, hoping that Sunnis and Shias would sit around a table and that at some point, perhaps via the United Nations, the leaders of a number of countries in the region should sit around a negotiating table, as happened in Yalta and Helsinki. Reynders hoped that one day it would be possible to launch this dialogue well beyond simply the Gulf States, between Iran, Saudi Arabia and its partners. He said a number of conflicts were linked with this situation that were not necessarily religious but also based on power relationships. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)