Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he’d suggested Rome as a possible venue for U.S.-Iran talks, and called on all sides to “look to the future, not to the past.”
“There is no lasting solution to this problem through military means,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said. “Only negotiation will make it possible to permanently restrict the Iranian nuclear program and to provide a lasting response to this question, to this issue, which is existential for Israel, for the region, and for Europe.”
When asked about Europe’s role in the conflict, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said “the Europeans have a strong position.” Iran is only willing to negotiate with Europe, he said, noting that this is “good sign for us” — but stressed the need for U.S. involvement in talks.
“Europeans told Iran on Friday that it had to be ready to negotiate directly with the U.S. Unfortunately, that was not successful and perhaps what we have seen is a consequence of that,” Wadephul said.
“The negotiating table is the only place to end this crisis,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X on Sunday.
As they gathered on Monday, ministers were largely diplomatic and refused to be drawn on whether they saw U.S. involvement as conducive to restarting negotiations.