Check against delivery! 

Good evening. 

We have this Southern Ministerial coming up. It is a historic event, because we have here Israel as well as Palestine. We have also Syria - for the first time in 11 years - around the table. 

Of course, we are discussing Mediterranean and what more can we do, the issues that are common: security, like maritime security, but also economic cooperation. And then, over the dinner, we will also discuss the regional situation. Of course, we will discuss Gaza.  

On that, I can say that we reached an agreement with the Israelis on the provision of the humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. But of course, it is not only the agreement but the implementation of the agreement.  

We see some good signs of more trucks getting in, more supplies to the people of Gaza but of course, we know that this is not enough. We need to push more that the implementation of what we have agreed also happens on the ground, to improve the situation on the ground.  

And of course, we will also discuss Iran, how we see the situation. For us, it is, working on the diplomatic solution and really resuming the talks regarding the nuclear issues, but not only nuclear, but also other issues that we have regarding Iran. 

Q&A. 

Q. On Gaza, you said in your communiqué last Friday that European Union is ready to coordinate between humanitarian stakeholders on the ground. We did not see what this kind of coordination is concretely, because we are watching every day, and Gazans are being killed. 

Like I say, the situation is very grave, and that is why we need to see real improvement on the ground. One thing is to agree on paper, but the other thing is to see this agreement being implemented. That is what we are pushing. We do not see enough improvement on the ground. We need to really see that this, all this – what we have agreed – is also happening.  

Q. In the meantime tomorrow there is a Foreign Affairs Council. You will discuss the options that are on the table. Do you think that now that there is an agreement between the EU and Israel on the increasing humanitarian aid, the situation will be different in the Foreign Affairs Council? 

I was asked to give the inventory of the all the options that could be taken. So it is up to the Member States to discuss what we do with these options. Everybody has stressed that they want to see improvement of the situation on the ground for the people, and that is definitely the question that we will have also today. We need to see real improvement on the ground. 

Q. President Trump announced today new weapons for Ukraine and threatened to hit buyers of Russian exports, of sanctions, unless Russia agrees to a peace deal in 50 days. What is your reaction? And also, will the European Union play a role in providing this aid to Ukraine? 

On the one hand, it is very positive that President Trump is taking a strong stance on Russia. On the other hand, 50 days is a very long time if we see that they are killing innocent civilians, also every day. It is clear that we all need to put more pressure on Russia so that they would also want peace. It is good that the Americans are making the steps, and I hope that they are also giving military aid like Europeans are giving. Thank you. 

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-275392