Gulf leaders including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with European heads of state and government in Brussels Wednesday for summit talks the EU hopes could help defuse an "extremely dangerous escalation" in the Middle East.

The 27-nation European Union is seeking to work more closely with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) -- which brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- in addressing conflicts in both the Middle East and Ukraine.

"Russia's war against Ukraine and the Hamas-led terrorist attack against Israel on October 7 have fundamentally undermined regional security in Europe and the Gulf," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen told the gathering in opening remarks.

"We need to do all in our power and mobilize all our diplomatic skills to stop the extremely dangerous escalation with now Iran launching a massive ballistic attack against Israel, or Huthis attacking our ships," she added, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

The first-ever gathering of its kind, the EU-GCC summit comes on the eve of an EU leaders' meeting in the........

© International Business Times