The European Union’s top two leaders on Wednesday praised Pakistan’s diplomatic role in mediating between the United States and Iran as efforts to de-escalate the conflict and revive negotiations intensified on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in New York on the sidelines of the 81st session of the General Assembly, according to a statement by the prime minister’s office.
“We work together on stability and security. We thanked the Prime Minister for his initiative to mediate in the conflict between the US and Iran,” the two EU leaders said in separate identical statements posted on X.
Sharif, Costa and von der Leyen exchanged views on regional and global developments and “reaffirmed the importance of dialogue, diplomacy, international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes,” said the statement from the prime minister’s office.
The call for a peaceful end to disputes came amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Pakistan is playing an important role in support of de-escalation, dialogue and the peaceful resolution of conflicts,” said the two EU leaders in their statement.
Islamabad has played a major mediating role between the US and Iran since the United States and Israel launched a military offensive against Iran in February this year.
Sharif’s office said the sides reviewed the “full spectrum” of bilateral ties and he reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to “further strengthening its broad-based partnership with the European Union and to the full implementation of the Pakistan-EU Strategic Engagement Plan.”
“The EU values its partnership with Pakistan. Our Strategic Engagement Plan reflects both the breadth of this partnership and the shared commitment to democracy, the rule of law, human rights and civic space,” said Costa and von der Leyen.
