EU consulting with Gulf countries on ways to end Mideast war: top official

Published March 17, 2026 Updated March 17, 2026 05:00pm

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, in her interview with Reuters, said the EU was consulting with Gulf countries on ways to end the ongoing conflict.

Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia who serves as the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the 27-nation EU, said the bloc was willing to help “diplomatically to bring the parties together to really stop this war”.

“We have been consulting with regional countries like the Gulf countries, Jordan, Egypt, (about) whether we could also bring forward proposals for Iran, Israel and the U.S. to get out of this situation so that everybody saves face.” She gave no further details on the consultations.

“The main concern of the European countries is that we were not consulted with (before) starting this war — actually the opposite. There were many Europeans who were trying to convince the US and Israel not to start this war,” Kallas said.

A smoke plume rise from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport in Dubai on March 16, 2026. — AFP
A smoke plume rise from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport in Dubai on March 16, 2026. — AFP

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