President Cyril Ramaphosa was chairing the BRICS summit, which called for peace in the Middle East. Picture: Kopano Tlape / GCIS
BRICS leaders have called for direct talks between warring parties to end the conflict in the Middle East following five weeks of attacks on Gaza.
The BRICS leaders said they fully support United Nations resolutions and regional peace initiatives.
The leaders of BRICS issued a joint statement on Tuesday, saying they support a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The summit was attended by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and new members of BRICS.
President Cyril Ramaphosa had convened an emergency meeting of the leaders of the bloc as the war continues to escalate in the Middle East.
President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping joined Ramaphosa in the virtual summit.
In the statement, BRICS leaders agreed that the conflict must come to an end, and for this to happen, there has to be direct talks between all sides involved in the conflict.
“We reaffirmed that a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved by peaceful means. The chair joined calls for the international community to support direct negotiations based on international law, including relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, towards a two-state solution, leading to the establishment of a sovereign, independent, and viable state of Palestine,” said BRICS leaders.
“We reiterated our strong support for regional and international efforts aimed at achieving an immediate cessation of hostilities, ensuring the protection of civilians, and the provision of humanitarian aid, said the leaders.
They welcomed efforts by regional bodies to try to end the conflict.
This includes the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also hosted a summit last week where the issue of Palestine was high on the agenda.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt also hosted another summit a few weeks ago to try and find a solution to the conflict.
The leaders of BRICS said they condemned all forms of violence and called for peace in the Middle East.
They were concerned about the deteriorating situation in Palestine.
“We expressed our deep concern at the dire humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We reiterated the need for full respect of international humanitarian law and the need for full, immediate, safe, unhindered, and sustained humanitarian access and the provision of aid in accordance with the basic principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence established in UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) resolution 46/182,” said the BRICS leaders.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics