EU High Representative Josep Borrel said on Friday that the EU and the GCC states, despite having different points of view, have some common grounds on issues pertaining to the Middle East region.

In his personal blog, commenting on the 27th EU-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ministerial meeting took place in Oman last Tuesday, a few days after Saturday's attack, Borrel said: "The crisis in the Middle East featured prominently in all discussions. Between Europeans and our Gulf partners, it could not have been a business as usual meeting." "We had an extensive and frank exchange with our GCC colleagues. Despite undeniable differences in perspective, we were able to find a significant common ground as reflected in the Co-Chair Statement, condemning any attack against civilians; requesting an immediate release of hostages and the respect of international humanitarian law - including access to water, food and electricity for the civil population in Gaza," he wrote.

EU and GCC ministers also supported the efforts initiated before the current crisis to revive the Middle East peace process and the two-state solution by Saudi Arabia, the European Union and the Arab League in cooperation with Egypt and Jordan.

"We stressed also the importance of sustained financial support to the Palestinian population through the UN Reliefs and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Palestinian Authority," said the EU's foreign affairs chief.

Borrell also touched on the advantage of the presence of many of EU foreign ministers in Oman to convene an informal EU Foreign Affairs Council after the EU-GCC meeting.

"It was our first meeting after the events on Saturday and it was therefore particularly important to share our views." EU ministers endorsed the main conclusions of our meeting with the GCC, he added.

Source: Kuwait News Agency