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Swiss president ‘deeply concerned’ over escalation in Middle East

Parmelin: 'deeply concerned' about escalation
Parmelin had discussions on Sunday with leaders in the UAE and Kuwait. Keystone-SDA

Swiss President Guy Parmelin has expressed "deep concern" over the ongoing escalation in the Middle East, "a region where I was so warmly welcomed last month", he said in a statement on X.

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The president also reported on Sunday evening that he contacted the leaders of two key Persian Gulf countries to discuss the crisis.

“I discussed the rapidly evolving situation and need to prevent further regional destabilisation with the President of the UAE and the Crown Prince of Kuwait,” said Parmelin, who’s also the economics minister.

+ No Swiss casualties reported in Iran crisis, say officials

He also reiterated Switzerland’s official call to parties to the conflict to fully respect international law: “They must protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, immediately de-escalate the situation and return to diplomacy,” said the president.

Translated from Italian with AI/gw

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