BRICS Summit Declaration Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza and Release of Prisoners by Both Sides

The leaders of the BRICS countries welcomed, in a statement issued at the 16th summit of the group held in the Russian city of Kazan on Wednesday, the Egyptian and Qatari efforts aimed at stopping the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The statement, published on the Kremlin's official website, expressed "deep concern over the escalating situation and the humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories," calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of prisoners and detainees from both sides without preconditions.

The statement urged the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions dated 2023 and 2024, welcoming the efforts of Egypt, Qatar and other regional efforts aimed at "an immediate ceasefire, accelerating the delivery of humanitarian aid and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip."

He called for adherence to the provisions of international humanitarian law, warning that continued escalation threatens to increase tension, extremism and other dire consequences at the regional and international levels.

BRICS member states also called on Israel to stop targeting UN personnel, following Israeli attacks on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.

"We strongly condemn the attacks on UN personnel and the threats to their safety, and call on Israel to immediately cease such steps," she said, stressing at the same time the need to preserve the integrity of Lebanese territory.

On the Iranian issue, the statement stressed the importance of fully fulfilling the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action approved by the UN Security Council in 2015, known in the media as the Iranian nuclear agreement, while emphasizing the importance of adopting a constructive approach based on the good will of all parties with the aim of resuming fulfillment of the obligations stipulated by all parties.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi also met with Zeshkian. The official spokesman for the Egyptian presidency said that the two presidents exchanged views on developments in the region, with el-Sisi stressing the importance of defusing regional tensions and avoiding uncalculated escalation, which could push the entire region into dangerous confrontations with negative repercussions on regional security and stability.

Source: Al-Araby Al-Jadeed