Sri Lanka, April 2 -- Britain will on Thursday (Apr 2) hold a virtual meeting of about 35 countries to discuss how to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz which has been crippled by the Middle East war.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the meeting earlier Wednesday, while a UK official told AFP the meeting would be virtual and held on Thursday.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will host the discussions, Starmer told reporters during a Downing Street news conference.

The meeting will "assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities", he added.

"Following that meeting, we will al...