Russia has so far been the only winner from the war in the Middle East as energy prices soar and attention for its war against Ukraine has faded, EU Council President Antonio Costa said on Tuesday.
European Council President Antonio Costa, Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko
Russia has so far been the only winner from the war in the Middle East as energy prices soar and attention for its war against Ukraine has faded, EU Council President Antonio Costa said on Tuesday.
"So far, there is only one winner in this war – Russia," Costa said in a speech to EU ambassadors in Brussels.
"It gains new resources to finance its war against Ukraine as energy prices rise. It profits from the diversion of military capabilities that could otherwise have been sent to support Ukraine. And it benefits from reduced attention to the Ukrainian front as the conflict in the Middle East takes centre stage."
Costa stressed the need for the EU to protect the international rules-based order, which he said was now being challenged by the United States, and for all parties in the Middle East to return to the negotiating table.
"Freedom and human rights cannot be achieved through bombs. Only international law upholds them," he said.
Kuwaiti authorities have ordered the closure of an Iranian school, a source at the Ministry of Education told AFP Thursday, as the country has repeatedly come under Iranian attack during the war in the Middle East.
Iran has made a concerted diplomatic push with Gulf states, warning them explicitly that Tehran will hit their oil, power and water plants unless they convince Donald Trump to end U.S. strikes on Iran and instead seek a negotiated end to the war.
Israel said two of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday while Lebanese authorities said Israeli retaliatory attacks killed at least one person, a flare-up in violence that coincided with the latest round of talks between the two countries.
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