LATEST: The United Kingdom will host an international summit this week to promote the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz | International
Sources confirm that the following story has emerged from the international scene.
The United Kingdom will host a meeting with 35 countries before the weekend to find a way to resume maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, blocked by Iran. “The Foreign Minister, Yvette Cooper, will chair a meeting that will bring together all these nations for the first time, to take into consideration all viable diplomatic and political measures to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped vessels and crews and resume the transport of vital goods,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced this Wednesday at a press conference held in Downing Street. Starmer has desperately sought, since he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom almost two years ago, to define his country’s role on the international stage. With the war in Ukraine, together with France, he promoted a “coalition of volunteers” to offer the country security guarantees on the day the fighting stops. With the war in the Middle East, Starmer has worked to promote a joint international response to reduce the scale of a conflict into which he has refused to be dragged. “We express our deep concern about the escalation of the conflict. We demand that Iran immediately cease its threats, its laying of mines, its attacks with drones and missiles and all its attempts to block the strait to commercial shipping,” says a joint statement issued by the countries participating in the meeting – everything indicates that the meeting on the Strait will take place this Thursday electronically, led by the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada. “We demand an immediate and complete moratorium on attacks against civil infrastructure, including oil and gas facilities. And we express our willingness to contribute to the efforts necessary to secure passage through the strait. We thus welcome the nations that have committed to participate in this planning effort,” the text adds. Spain will not participate. Sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have argued: “Spain’s position of not doing anything that contributes to the current war remains. And we advocate de-escalation, dialogue and respect for international law.” New attacks by Trump A few minutes before the prime minister’s intervention, The Daily Telegraph newspaper published an interview with Donald Trump in which the American president announced that he is considering the idea of leaving NATO. “I have always known that [la OTAN] It’s a paper tiger. And by the way, President Putin knows it too,” said Trump, who has once again ridiculed the military capacity of the United Kingdom. “You don’t even have a navy,” he tells the British interviewer. “You are very old and your aircraft carriers no longer work,” he added. Starmer has avoided direct confrontation. Instead, he has responded with a double argument. He has defended NATO as “the most effective military alliance the world has ever known,” which has maintained security “for decades.” At the same time, he has defended the need to forge increasingly closer ties with Europe in security and defense. Starmer’s ‘no to war’ The British Prime Minister is increasingly comfortable in his rejection of a conflict originated by Washington and Israel, which from the first moment he has defined as contrary to international legality and poorly planned. “It is not our war. We will not allow ourselves to be dragged into a conflict that does not respond to our national interest. The best way to lower the cost of living for the British is precisely by working to reduce military escalation in the Middle East and to achieve the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which is a vital route for our energy needs,” said Starmer. The Labor Government, like other countries in Europe, has approved a series of emergency measures to alleviate the economic consequences of the war against Iran, with reductions in gas and electricity bills in the majority of homes. Starmer has announced that, after the international meeting to discuss the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, will convene the military leaders of the participating nations to plan a possible joint security effort in the maritime passage, but only for the moment when the war ends and a situation of cessation of hostilities is reached. The United Kingdom has decided to accelerate its willingness to work increasingly closely with the EU in the areas of security, defence, economy and trade. Starmer has reaffirmed its commitment not to reincorporate the country into the internal market or the customs union, but has announced to. at the same time the intention of his Government to seek a more intense regulatory alignment with Brussels, something that for Eurosceptics has always been casus belli. “I think that, in all these matters, we need a closer relationship with Europe. And in fact, I think that will help strengthen our relationship with the United States. There are many American presidents who have been insisting for some time that we had to make more efforts in security and defense” on this side of the Atlantic, justified Starmer, who without falling into Trump’s provocations, has been modulating in recent weeks the discourse of distancing himself from Washington that many of his colleagues in the Labor Party demanded of him.
The Bigger Picture:
This report highlights significant developments in the international landscape that could reshape diplomatic relations in the coming weeks.
The implications of this story extend beyond borders and could affect millions of people globally.
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Source: This article was originally published in another language by Internacional en EL PAÍS and has been translated and adapted for our global English-speaking audience. Read the original article here.