The EU high representative for foreign affairs has condemned Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza but has neither confirmed nor denied claims that she made comments accusing the Jewish state of practicing apartheid.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar expressed disappointment over your remarks. Have you been misunderstood or how should the treatment of Palestinians in Israel ultimately be described? Is it comparable to South Africa’s former apartheid system or not?
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of interviews and all kinds of statements I have made in front of cameras. If we start arguing over what was or was not said behind closed doors, I would have to spend every day doing this job just constantly denying or confirming such claims. Let’s stick to the statements that are publicly available to everyone.
Europe’s position is very clear: We support a two-state solution. We see that the violence taking place in the West Bank is making that goal increasingly impossible to achieve. What is still happening in Gaza — despite there being a peace agreement — deserves condemnation and European countries have in fact spoken out on this in complete unity.
The main question is how to achieve peace in this situation and perhaps also how to change Israel’s behavior. When you took office, your message was that you wanted to maintain dialogue with Israel as well.
I have in fact been in constant contact with Israel and those exchanges have not been easy at all because we simply cannot support what the Israeli government is currently doing. I have been the one conveying these messages — both from meetings of EU foreign ministers to the European Commission, which is expected to come forward with measures, and directly to the Israeli foreign minister. These have not always been easy conversations; quite the opposite. I have always considered them constructive. At times, we were speaking almost every day, which is why the Israeli foreign minister’s remarks genuinely came as a surprise.
How do we move forward from here and resolve this situation if Israel says it no longer wants to talk to you?
Israel is currently in the middle of an election campaign and that needs to be taken into account. As far as I know, the election will be held either in September or October and during an election campaign all foreign policy statements become part of the domestic political struggle, so we’ll have to wait and see.
So we wait for them to calm down?
We have our own policy. Naturally, I remain open to dialogue and I have not closed that door. But it is also clear that there is very strong pressure within the Foreign Affairs Council to end trade with Israel’s illegal settlements. That work is continuing and the question is what exactly we do next. All member states agree that what is happening in the West Bank is in no way sustainable. But what measures do we take to influence the Israeli government to put an end to these actions? That is the big question.
A quick question on Russia as well. According to reports by Bloomberg, Antonio Costa is already using back channels to establish contact with Moscow in preparation for some form of dialogue. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is still talking about appointing a special envoy and we have seen E3 diplomats travel to Moscow. So, as the European Union, are we talking to Russia or not?
For me, the most important thing has been to prepare what exactly we intend to ask of Russia. There are indeed voices saying that we should talk and it is clear that there is some movement underway — whether it is the E3 or someone else who is now eager to establish contact with Russia.
What matters, however, is that Russia is asked for much more than simply ending the war. A whole range of concessions must be demanded. Otherwise, we will merely see a pause in the fighting, followed by Russia attacking again in a few years. We have seen this happen before and that is why my goal and the focus of my work is to prevent it from happening again. Whoever sits down at the table with Russia must also make demands of it and negotiate in a way that requires Russia to take steps of its own.
Are these preparations currently being made in order to open more formal channels of communication or not?
There have been reports in the media that there is some activity going on here and there. That is precisely why my message has been that the key issue is not who is talking, but what they intend to say. In my view, the concern among countries on the EU’s eastern flank is why no one from the East — no one who truly understands Russia — is being included in these negotiations or contacts. Unfortunately, both recent and more distant history offer many bad examples of such negotiations or dealings with Russia ending badly for some European countries.
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