High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has welcomed the start of the maritime humanitarian aid operation from Cyprus to Gaza, noting that more access by land should be facilitated.
The EU official, who was speaking after the conclusion of the Foreign Affairs Council held on Monday in Brussels, referred to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
Borrell stressed that the World Food Programme has issued a report on the situation in Gaza, which says that they have never seen a starvation situation as the one that people in Gaza are suffering and that 70% of the population are at risk of starvation and 100% – almost everybody – is under severe food stress.
“This is the situation in Gaza” he said.
The High Representative said that the EU Foreign Affairs Council discussed about the Cyprus Maritime Route.
“Certainly, the Cyprus Maritime Route has to be developed, but more access by land has to be facilitated by Israel” he noted and thanked Cyprus fo
r the initiative, which is now being implemented.
He also said that they discussed about sanctions on Hamas and the proposal of Ireland and Spain to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Borrell announced that the Foreign Ministers agreed on sanctions on 30 natural and legal persons in Russia in connection with the murder of Alexei Navalny. Regarding Ukraine, he said that they agreed on the creation of the fund to support the country within the framework of the European Peace Mechanism.
Source: Cyprus News Agency