All news

Crisis after US strikes in Iraq jeopardizing region stabilization efforts - EU

The European Union "stands ready to continue its engagement with all sides in order to contribute to defusing tensions and reverse the dynamics of the conflict"

BRUSSELS, January 4. /TASS/. The crisis in the Middle East provoked by US air strikes in Iraq threatens to undermine long-term efforts of the internal community to stabilize the region, EU High Representative Josep Borrell says in his statement, released on Friday.

"The current cycle of violence in Iraq must be stopped before it spirals out of control. The EU calls on all the actors involved and on those partners who can have an influence to exercise maximum restraint and show responsibility in this crucial moment. Another crisis risks jeopardizing years of efforts to stabilize Iraq. Furthermore, the ongoing escalation threatens the whole region, which has suffered immensely and whose populations deserve life in peace," the statement says.

The European Union "stands ready to continue its engagement with all sides in order to contribute to defusing tensions and reverse the dynamics of the conflict," according to the statement.

The Pentagon confirmed on Friday that a missile strike near the Baghdad airport killed the head of the Quds Force Qasem Soleimani. The operation was carried out at the direction of US President Donald Trump, the statement said.