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Added on the 12/09/2019 17:14:38 - Copyright : Euronews EN
The Group of Seven industrialised nations is "committed to de-escalating" tensions in the Middle East in the wake of reports that Israel launched strikes on Iran in retaliation for its unprecedented attack on Israeli soil Saturday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says. "We're committed to Israel's security. We're also committed to de-escalating, to trying to bring this tension to a close," Blinken tells a press conference after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers on the Italian island of Capri. SOUNDBITE
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reiterates his desire to see "calm heads prevail" in the Middle East, following reports that Israel carried out a retaliatory strike on Iran. "Significant escalation is not in anyone's interest," he says during questions after delivering an unrelated speech, adding: "What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region." SOUNDBITE
European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell gives a press conference in Capri, Italy ahead of the Foreign Affairs Ministers' Meeting in which he warns that 'We are on the edge of a war with the Middle East which will be sending shock waves to the rest of the world and in particular to Europe." SOUNDBITE
"Neither the region nor the world can afford more war," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns at the top of a Security Council meeting on Iran's attack on Israel. SOUNDBITE
Tensions in the Middle East and shipping disruptions in the Red Sea could push eurozone inflation higher again, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde warns at a press conference in Frankfurt. SOUNDBITE
US President Joe Biden's Middle East advisor is holding talks in the region on a new, possibly longer deal for the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting in Gaza, the White House says. SOUNDBITE