UK 'strongly' wants ceasefire extended to Lebanon
Britain's foreign minister said Thursday the UK "strongly" wants Lebanon included in the Middle East ceasefire as Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in the United Arab Emirates.
"We do want to see the ceasefire extended to Lebanon. I'm deeply troubled about the escalating attacks that we saw from Israel in Lebanon yesterday," Yvette Cooper told Sky News.
"We've seen the humanitarian consequences, the huge mass displacement of people in Lebanon. So we do strongly want to see the ceasefire extended to Lebanon," she said.
Cooper's comments came as Starmer arrived in the UAE on the second leg of a visit to the Gulf to meet with regional leaders seeking to bolster the ceasefire in the Middle East war.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained extremely limited on Wednesday despite the announcement of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
Cooper was later Thursday expected to underline the importance of ensuring shipping through the strait was toll-free and unhindered.
"We should start immediately to get international shipping moving again by supporting the International Maritime Organization's proposals to move the ships trapped in the Strait, and the 20,000 stranded seafarers," she was due to tell business leaders, according to the Foreign Office.
"The full and unconditional re-opening of the strait must be a central part not just of the current ceasefire but of the long term future for the region."
And she was to add that "the fundamental freedoms of the seas must not be unilaterally withdrawn or sold off to individual bidders. Nor can there be any place for tolls on an international waterway".
Iran on Thursday announced alternative routes for ships travelling through the key waterway, citing the risk of sea mines.
Starmer on Wednesday met Saudi Arabia's de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah.
He "set out how efforts must now be focused on upholding" the ceasefire "and turning it into a lasting peace," a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement.
He also "discussed the UK's ongoing efforts to convene partners to agree and plan the practical steps required to give shipping the confidence to transit the Strait," the spokesperson added.
The visit follows a virtual meeting Tuesday of military planners from over 30 countries hosted by Britain.
The strait has been largely closed since the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran started on February 28, impacting global supplies of oil, liquified natural gas, and fertiliser.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://prod.naharnet.com/stories/en/319434 |