2024-02-19T12:33:02+00:00
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/ The foreign ministers of the European Union countries agreed, on Monday, to launch the military naval operation “Aspedes” in the Red Sea, with the aim of protecting trade movement and freedom of navigation.
“We have just agreed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council to launch the Aspides naval operation, whose forces Italy will command,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a statement on the X platform, according to Russia Today.
Tajani stressed that “Italy is in the front lines to protect the interests of commercial ships and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” noting that this operation is “an important step towards joint European defense.”
It is noteworthy that the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, had previously submitted to the member states a proposal to form a mission to contribute to maintaining security in the Red Sea, against the backdrop of Houthi attacks on international ships.
Earlier, the Houthis warned the European Union against getting militarily involved alongside the United States and Britain against them, and reiterated their continued operations against ships linked to Israel and American and British ships.
Britain and the United States carried out joint strikes against Houthi sites in Yemen in response to repeated Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea that disrupted global trade.