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ChinaDiplomacy

Europe tests ‘third way’ on Hormuz without the US, Israel and Iran. Will it work?

Coalition of more than 30 nations to meet in Paris for a summit to find a ‘credible proposal’ to restore shipping through the strait

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Some 34 per cent of the global oil trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz last year. Photo: Reuters
Finbarr Berminghamin BrusselsandXiaofei Xuin Paris
France and Britain are pulling together a coalition of more than 30 nations on Friday for a Parisian summit aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Neither the United States nor Israel or Iran have been invited to the first major European push to influence a war that was launched six weeks ago by a US-Israeli bombardment on Iran.
Europe insists it is not a party to the war, but as energy prices soar and munitions get diverted from Ukraine it is already paying the price.
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China is among the Asian nations to have been invited – demarched by both Paris and London, it is understood – although it was unclear at what level it would attend, if at all.

Definitely on the guest list is a smattering of European leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and a host of Gulf and Asian states with a shared interest in restoring shipping through the strait.

The idea of the summit is said to go back more than a month to when French President Emmanuel Macron visited Cyprus. Photo: AFP
The idea of the summit is said to go back more than a month to when French President Emmanuel Macron visited Cyprus. Photo: AFP

“What we will want to do with our partners from Europe, Asia, the Indo-Pacific, Latin America, Africa, is in essence to bring together in order to build a credible proposal which is in essence that of a third way,” said an Elysee official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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