The French foreign minister says the crisis around the Strait of Hormuz “has lasted for far too long” and must be brought to an end, warning that maritime insecurity is threatening both global trade and the international rules-based order, Anadolu reports.

“All of this has lasted for far too long. This must all be brought to an end,” Jean-Noel Barrot tells the UN Security Council.

Calling freedom of navigation an “imprescriptible, inviolable right,” he has warned against any impediment to passage through the strategic waterway.

“Straits are the arteries of the world. They are not the property of any individual,” he says, adding they “cannot be impeded by any obstacles.”

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