European Council President Antonio Costa warns that Russia has gained from the Middle East conflict through higher energy prices and diverted attention from Ukraine.

BRUSSELS: European Council President Antonio Costa declared Russia the only clear winner from the ongoing conflict involving Iran, citing Moscow’s financial gains from surging energy prices and the strategic distraction from Ukraine.

Costa told European Union ambassadors in Brussels that Russia has steadily undermined Ukraine’s position by flouting international law while securing new resources to finance its war effort as energy costs rise.

He stated that the diversion of military capabilities and political attention from Ukraine to the Middle East has provided a significant benefit to the Kremlin.

The conflict has severely disrupted global energy and transport sectors, with activity in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz virtually halted following Iranian retaliatory strikes in the Gulf.

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Washington would waive some sanctions on oil to boost supply and curb prices, following a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Curbing Moscow’s oil revenues has long been a central objective of Western sanctions designed to limit Putin’s capacity to fund the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s critical need for air defence systems, as Russia targets its energy infrastructure and cities, is now compounded by high global demand for such equipment due to Iranian strikes across the Middle East.

Costa outlined a new global reality where Russia violates peace, China disrupts trade, and the United States challenges the international rules-based order.

He expressed Brussels’s solidarity with the longsuffering people of Iran and support for their right to determine their own future.

Costa argued that freedom and human rights cannot be achieved through bombs, asserting that only international law can uphold them.

He concluded by warning that further escalation threatens the Middle East, Europe, and the wider world.

 The Sun Malaysia