Middle East – Working meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and with the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy

Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, had a working meeting today with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar; Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Johann Wadephul, Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany; Ed Miliband, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs; and Antonio Tajani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic.

The ministers discussed the situation in the Middle East, in particular the Iran crisis and its security and economic repercussions for both the region and the whole international community. They emphasized the need to prevent a further military escalation and achieve a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, and expressed their full commitment to contributing to this. In this regard, they voiced their support for the mediation efforts under way, in particular those of Qatar, and called on all the parties to continue their discussions constructively.

They agreed on the need to guarantee, through diplomatic channels, that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons and ends all its destabilizing activities.

The ministers also recalled the urgent need to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, in strict compliance with international law.

The ministers decided to continue their close coordination on all these issues.