Ruptly
"France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said on Thursday that the French government is in a meeting with 35 countries to help ships exit the Strait of Hormuz. "So our goal is to have an impact and achieve results, namely the restoration of traffic fluidity, but within the limit that we will never have the will to liberate this strait by force," Confavreux said while speaking to the press in Paris. The spokesperson added that France is backing its Gulf allies through a 'very significant deployment' of Charles de Gaulle, helicopter carriers, frigates, among others, for 'strictly defensive' use. Confavreux said that a telephonic meeting was ongoing with preparations underway for a meeting the following week, aiming to bring together both G7 partners and Gulf partners on the same topic. "Our interest in this is a regional blockade issue that has global consequences," he stated. "Our interest is to restore the fluidity of this traffic because the world economy suffers, and behind the world economy, the European economy, the French economy, but also other economies, notably the American economy," he continued. The deployment of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle comes after US President Donald Trump blasted NATO as a 'paper tiger' for refusing to help break the Iranian naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also criticised France and the UK for offering help only after the initial attacks, and Germany for saying 'this isn’t our war'. The US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran on Israeli and US assets. The escalation has disrupted key maritime routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies pass."
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