European leaders fear Middle East on brink after ‘unacceptable’ Hezbollah threats
European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has warned that the Middle East is close to seeing the conflict expanding into Lebanon just days after Hezbollah threatened EU member Cyprus, Reuters reports.
“The risk of this war affecting the south of Lebanon and spilling over is every day bigger,” Borrell told reporters ahead of a foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg. “We are on the eve of the war expanding.”
“It is absolutely unacceptable to make threats against a sovereign state of the European Union,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said. “We stand by Cyprus and we will all be together in all kinds of global threats coming from terrorist organisations.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the situation between Israel and Hezbollah was very worrying and she would travel to Lebanon soon. “A further escalation would be a catastrophe for people in the region,” she said.