French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Friday, following an international meeting in Paris, for the Strait of Hormuz to be fully reopened and for no tolls or restrictions on commercial shipping to be imposed.
Macron and Starmer call for full opening of the Strait of Hormuz. PHOTO: Video Capture / X
The event brought together around 40 states and was co-chaired by France and the United Kingdom, with the objective of finding solutions to restore freedom of navigation in one of the most important global sea routes.
“We all demand an immediate, unconditional and total reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by the (belligerent) parties. We demand the restoration of the conditions of free passage that prevailed before the war and full respect for the law of the sea”, said Emmanuel Macron.
The French leader strongly rejected the idea of any form of economic control or taxation of passage through the strait.
“We are all opposed to any restriction, any convention regime that would in fact amount to an attempt to privatize the Straits and, obviously, any system of tolling the passage”, Macron said.
He also announced the continuation of discussions at the international level.
“A meeting is due to take place in London next week”said the French president, who also welcomed the announcement regarding the reopening of the strait.
In the same tone, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized the need for the reopening to be stable and complete.
“The passage of the Strait of Hormuz must be free of tolls and without restrictions”, Starmer said.
He stated that several states are ready to contribute to a possible naval mission with a defensive role.
“This reinforces the need for the work we did this afternoon in Paris. Some 12 countries are prepared to commit assets to a defensive mission to restore freedom of navigation“, said the British Prime Minister.
For his part, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni emphasized that such a mission must have a strictly defensive character and be conditional on the cessation of hostilities.
“A future international naval mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz is necessary to wait for a cessation of hostilities, in coordination with all regional and international actors, in an exclusively defensive posture”, Meloni said, adding that Italy is ready to participate.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz supported the involvement of the United States in possible international efforts.
“Germany will participate in other ongoing military planning discussions and we would welcome, if possible, a participation by the United States of America”he specified.
The talks come as the Strait of Hormuz reopened to commercial shipping on Friday following announcements of a fragile ceasefire in the region and diplomatic developments between Iran and the United States. But Western leaders warn that the situation remains volatile, and securing navigation in the area could require a dedicated international mission.
