Israel-Iran conflict: European diplomatic efforts in Geneva struggle to prevent escalation
Nearly four hours of intense closed-door talks were not enough to sway Iran, despite its current dire straits. In the plush rooms of Geneva's Intercontinental Hotel on Friday, June 20, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, along with his British and Germans counterparts, David Lammy and Johann Wadephul, as well as Kaja Kallas, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs, only managed to "sketch out," in Barrot's words, "a diplomatic solution" with their Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi. "All the participants expressed their willingness to continue the discussions," the French minister said after the talks. When? That remains undetermined.
The Iranian minister did not make an appearance alongside the Europeans later in the afternoon, saying in a statement he was concerned by "the three countries' inaction in condemning the acts of aggression by the Zionist regime." Iran has demanded that a ceasefire come into force before any talks can begin. "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again and once the aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed," Araghchi said, as rumors swirled that parallel negotiations were being conducted, through Qatari mediation, between Iran and Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff. "Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this one," Trump said just hours after the Geneva meeting, further undermining the European diplomatic initiative.
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