Middle East crisis top-of-mind at first EU-Gulf summit

BRUSSELS: Gulf leaders including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with European heads of state and government in Brussels on Wednesday for summit talks the EU hopes could help defuse an “extremely dangerous escalation” in the Middle East.

The 27-nation European Union is seeking to work more closely with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) — which brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — in addressing conflicts in both the Middle East and Ukraine.

“Russia’s war against Ukraine and the Hamas-led terrorist attack against Israel on October 7 have fundamentally undermined regional security in Europe and the Gulf,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen told the gathering in opening remarks.

“We need to do all in our power and mobilize all our diplomatic skills to stop the extremely dangerous escalation with now Iran launching a massive ballistic attack against Israel, or Huthis attacking our ships,” she added, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

The first-ever gathering of its kind, the EU-GCC summit comes on the eve of an EU leaders’ meeting in the Belgian capital.

Confirmed at the last minute, the presence of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler among the six Gulf leaders in attendance heightened expectations.

Trade, energy and climate change were all on the table, but Israel’s conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon — on which the two groups hold broadly converging views — were set to dominate the agenda.

“We need a settlement for these conflicts,” said Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

“We hope that this first summit will be the first step to consolidate our historic ties between the GCC and the EU.” The EU is the second-largest trading partner for GCC countries but talks on a trade pact have languished for years. While views differ on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — in particular the implementation of Western sanctions and the EU’s push to punish Iran for bolstering Moscow’s war effort — there was some hope of closer cooperation on that front.