EU welcomes US-Iran ceasefire, urges efforts to create lasting agreement

BRUSSELS, April 8 (Reuters) - ‌EU leaders ​on ​Wednesday welcomed the two-week ceasefire agreed by the United States and Iran.

"I welcome the ‌two-week ceasefire the US and Iran agreed last ⁠night. It brings much needed de-escalation", European Commission President Ursula ‌von der Leyen said ‌on social media platform X, adding it was crucial negotiations continue for an enduring solution.

European Council ​President Costa added on X that he urged "all parties to uphold its terms in order to ⁠achieve sustainable peace in the region".

Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top ​diplomat, said the ceasefire deal was "a step back from the brink after weeks of escalation".

"It ​creates a much-needed chance to ‌tone down threats, stop missiles, restart shipping, and create space for diplomacy towards ⁠a lasting agreement," she added.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced late on Tuesday that he had agreed to a ⁠two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than two hours before his ​deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face devastating attacks on its civilian infrastructure.

The announcement late on ‌Tuesday represented an abrupt turnaround from his extraordinary warning earlier in the day, ‌when he said "a whole civilization will die tonight" if ⁠his demands were ‌not met.

(Reporting by Makini ​Brice, Lili Bayer, Writing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Edwina ‌Gibbs)

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