EU leaders expressed their “very grave concern” at the lack of progress in the Middle East peace process…

Date: 18/06/1998

...and “the threat that this poses to the stability and security of the region” at this week's Cardiff summit. They urged all sides to implement the Israeli/Palestinian interim agreements and the Hebron Protocol fully. “The European Council calls on Israel to recognise the right of the Palestinians to exercise self-determination, without excluding the option of a state,” they said in a statement. They also called for a “full and unconditional withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Southern Lebanon.