EU foreign policy chief says 2-state solution 'best chance to lasting peace' in Mideast

The EU foreign policy chief said Monday that the bloc's foreign ministers are united in believing a "two-state solution is the best chance to lasting peace" as they met at the UN in New York with their counterparts from Brazil, Mexico, and India.

"This means the safe and secure Israel and viable Palestinian state," Kaja Kallas told reporters ahead of this week's UN General Assembly. She decried the situation in Gaza as a "failure of humanity," saying that "the Israeli government must lift all humanitarian restrictions."

She added that "immediately expanding (West Bank) settlements and annexing territory are incompatible with peace," adding that Palestinian group "Hamas must lay down its arms and release all hostages."

Kallas underlined that the EU is "the largest humanitarian donor and a strong supporter of the Palestinian authority," and said the bloc's ministers are working to revive momentum for a two-state outcome. She confirmed that EU sanctions on Israel, proposed last week, would be taken up again in October.

On Ukraine, Kallas warned that Russia is showing "absolute contempt for any attempt of diplomacy" and that "prospects of peace recede with every Russian airstrike."

She reiterated: "Moscow's repeated violations of European Union airspace are reckless, dangerous, and risk situations that can get out of hand."

Kallas said the EU's latest sanctions package targets Russian banks, energy firms, crypto exchanges, and Chinese companies "enabling the war." Europe's military support for Ukraine reached €25 billion (nearly $30 billion) this year, she added, while frozen Russian assets are also being explored to aid Kyiv.