MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/. The international community should join forces to find a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"Russia’s position is consistent and does not change with the situation. We urge the international community to join forces in order to ease tensions, ensure a ceasefire and find a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he noted, addressing an extraordinary summit of the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa).
According to Putin, "BRICS nations and the countries of the region could play a key role in this work." "This is why the participation of our colleagues from the Middle East in today’s meeting, who were invited to join BRICS as full members earlier in the year, is particularly important," the Russian leader noted. "I would like to use this opportunity to respectfully commend their efforts to improve the situation, particularly by holding the Peace Summit in Egypt and the extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit in Saudi Arabia," Putin said.
Humanitarian pauses and ceasefire
The Russian president highlighted the fact that "all BRICS countries share similar positions on the need to make joint efforts to find a long-term and sustainable solution to the prolonged Israeli-Palestinian issue." In his view, "this became evident in the UN General Assembly’s vote on a draft resolution on a humanitarian ceasefire, as well as in discussions of a UN Security Council resolution on the Middle East settlement, which was adopted for the first time in seven years."
"Even though the resolution only calls for humanitarian pauses and not for a ceasefire, we see its adoption as a step in the right direction," the Russian president pointed out. He stressed that "while a full ceasefire would be better, such humanitarian pauses are required for efforts to release hostages and evacuate civilians and foreign nationals from the Gaza Strip."
The UN Security Council earlier passed a Malta-drafted humanitarian resolution aimed at assisting children in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone. The seven-point document particularly calls for long humanitarian pauses and the immediate release of all hostages, especially children.
Putin also thanked his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for facilitating the evacuation of Russian nationals from Gaza.
Risk of conflict expansion
The Russian leader emphasized the need to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East and prevent the conflict from expanding. "By and large, ensuring a long-term and sustainable ceasefire is certainly the most pressing goal," Putin noted. "It is important to stop other countries from being dragged into the war in the Middle East and prevent the conflict from expanding, as well as to preserve the fragile interfaith peace," he added.