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On 10 October, an Informal video conference of EU ministers of foreign affairs on the situation in Israel and the Middle East region took place in Oman following the attack on Israel by Hamas.

Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis joined in from Oman with other EU foreign ministers attending the 27th session of the EU-GCC Joint Ministerial Council.

Landsbergis condemned the Hamas attack on Israel that had caused immense suffering of victims and posed a major threat to regional security. The head of Lithuania’s diplomacy stressed Israel’s right to defend itself following the principles of international humanitarian law.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister called on the EU to actively avoid an expansion of the conflict in the region, as it was in the interest of those who sought even greater instability. “Europe must contribute constructively to the solution. The Middle East region expects this from us,” Landsbergis said.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister stressed that the Hamas’ attack on Israel was not just a regional conflict and could have wide-ranging geopolitical consequences in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and other ongoing conflicts.

Landsbergis also noted that the EU should respond to the damage to the Baltic connector gas pipeline linking Finland and Estonia, which Finnish representatives called sabotage.

“We must create effective joint EU-NATO instruments to protect what links us. Lithuania is ready to participate and support its partners in every way possible,” Landsbergis stressed.