Borrell blames 'ring of fires' in Sahel and MENA for possible EU war

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
9 Apr 2024 16:18

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warns that a high-intensity conventional war "looming in the horizon" in Europe "is no longer a fantasy."

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, March 18, 2024. (AP)

The possibility of a high-intensity conventional war "looming in the horizon" in Europe "is no longer a fantasy," accortding to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

The EU chief argued that this comes amid all-over-the-globe conflicts, as he explained, "We imagined to be in a world with a ring of friends after the fall of the Berlin Wall and this is replaced by a ring of fires among us, of instability from the Sahel, to the Middle East, to the Caucasus, to the Baltic [region] not to look deeper into Africa. Ring of fire around us, I think we are living a very important moment in European construction because war is looming in the horizon and that is not a small matter, that is not a small thing."

The top diplomat emphasized that the European Union does not foresee establishing a unified military force in the near future. Instead, defense will continue to be the responsibility of individual member states.

Ansar Allah 'quite autonomous,' Iran's control limited: EU's Borrell

At a news conference in Brussels on Monday, Borrell remarked that Yemen's Resistance movement Ansar Allah has become "quite autonomous."

He further noted that the movement's decision-making processes were not "fully controlled by Iran."

"We want to keep channels of communications open with Iran, we have called on Iran to show restraint and to use its influence to avoid escalation and, in particular, with relation to the Houthis. But I do not think Iran has full control of Houthis' decision-making, they have become quite autonomous," Borrell said.

Since the start of the war on Gaza, Iran has been alleged by the West to have spearheaded the movement and actions of resistance groups across the region, targeting "Israel" and Israeli-linked elements. But Tehran has consistently denied such claims, asserting that resistance movements are acting independently.

The US has even gone as far as fabricating information, alleging that talks between Washington and Tehran took place on the Red Sea.

The Yemeni resistance has been targeting Israeli and Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea, aiming to pressure the Zionist regime to halt its genocidal campaign in Gaza. Transit remained accessible for vessels not affiliated with the regime until the US and the UK formed a naval coalition targeting Yemeni positions along the Yemeni coast.

Despite efforts to force the reopening of the Red Sea, the naval coalition failed to subdue the Yemeni resistance. The latest round of operations involve the targeting of three cargo ships in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean, using anti-ship and cruise missiles. The spokesperson of the YAF Brigadier General Yahya Saree said that the operations were conducted in a span of 72 hours.