The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates participates in the meetings for the Mediterranean in Brussels

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, is participating in a joint meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the European Union and the Southern Mediterranean partner countries, chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The meeting aims to launch a new charter for regional cooperation in the Mediterranean region, enhancing partnerships between Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries and EU member states in the fields of environment, economy, and business. The ultimate goal is to promote security, peace, and sustainable development across the region. Also attending are several Foreign Ministers from Arab Mediterranean countries, alongside EU member states of the Union for the Mediterranean.

The minister will deliver a statement on behalf of the State of Palestine, focusing on the dire humanitarian and political situation resulting from the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip. She will highlight the systematic policies of forced displacement, starvation, and the financial blockade imposed by the occupying power, particularly through the illegal withholding of Palestinian clearance revenues.

The Minister will also draw attention to the alarming escalation of settler militia attacks in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which takes place under the protection of Israeli forces. Her remarks will address the continued siege on northern West Bank cities and refugee camps, the expansion of illegal settlements, house demolitions, forced displacement, and the ongoing assaults on Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem. She will further emphasize the accelerating process of de facto annexation of Palestinian land.

Shahin is scheduled to hold a series of bilateral meetings with several European foreign ministers and with High Representative Kallas. She will brief them on the situation on the ground, including the ongoing war crimes and gross violations of international law committed against the Palestinian people.

In her engagements, the Minister will call for urgent international action to stop the atrocities, end the occupation, and ensure the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. She will urge the EU to play a more active political role in reviving a credible peace process based on international law and relevant UN resolutions.