Middle East chaos stems from erosion in international law, EU's Kallas says

She says violations and chaos will continue without law and accountability

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas attends a press conference in Krakow, Poland, Feb 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki

The current turmoil in the Middle East is a direct result of the erosion in international law, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday.

In a speech at the University of Zurich, Kallas said the international order has been undermined by major powers acting unilaterally, pointing the finger particularly at Russia, but also directing criticism at China and the United States.

"Today, the chaos we see around us in the Middle East is a direct consequence of the erosion of international law," she said, arguing that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had encouraged others to act with impunity.

China, she said, was also taking advantage of the erosion of international rules to extend its influence in the Asia-Pacific region and put pressure on Europe's economies.

"Without restoring international law, together with accountability, we are doomed to see repeated violations of the law, disruption and chaos," Kallas argued.

Turning to the United States, she said Washington's foreign policy shift had "rocked the transatlantic relationship to its foundation, with aftershocks in other parts of the world," and calling its impact on the international order "seismic."

"The current direction is a new world order characterised by competition and coercive power politics, a world order dominated by a handful of military powers who aim to establish and secure spheres of influence," Kallas said.

Kallas was delivering the Churchill Special Lecture some 80 years after Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill spoke at the University and called for the building of a "United States of Europe" following the devastation of World War Two.