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Added on the 23/10/2023 19:51:27 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
The United States warns against further escalation in the Middle East after a suspected Israeli attack on a Hamas leader in Lebanon and deadly blasts in Iran. "It is in no one's interest -- not in the interest of any country in the region, not in the interest of any country in the world -- to see this conflict. escalated any further than it already is," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller tells reporters. SOUNDBITE
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that China can play a role in reducing tensions in the Middle East, including through its influence with Iran. "I think the relationships that China has can be positive in trying to calm tensions, to prevent escalation, avoid the spread of the conflict," Blinken told reporters, saying Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to stay in contact on the Middle East. SOUNDBITE
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