New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) Sharp differences among the BRICS member states over the US-Israel war on Iran stalled India’s efforts to build a consensus position on the conflict during a meeting of the grouping in New Delhi last week, official sources said on Sunday.
There was no change in India’s position on the Palestine issue at all, they said days after the meeting of the BRICS Deputy foreign ministers and special envoys on Middle East and North America held in New Delhi.
As consensus on the West Asia conflict eluded, a “chair’s statement” was released at the end of the deliberations. India is the current chair of the BRICS.
The BRICS meeting of officials on the Middle-East could not produce a consensus document because there was “sharp difference of positions among members who are party to the conflict”, the sources said.
It is learnt that the United Arab Emirates’ position on the conflict resulted in the meeting ending without producing a collective statement.
Efforts to bridge the gaps by all others were not successful, the sources said.
On the Palestine issue, India had only as recently as in January reached an agreed position with the Arab League, including Palestine, they said.
India has been clear in its support for a two-State solution, the sources said.
“Many BRICS members had hosted/supported/ attended the Sharm el-Sheikh summit and the UNSC resolution 2803. These have been notable developments in the last year,” a source said.
The Sharm el-Sheikh summit in October last paved the way for ending the Israeli military offensive in Gaza. The summit culminated in the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Following the BRICS meeting on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the members expressed deep concern on the conflict in the Middle East and offered views and assessments on the matter.
In January, India and the Arab League nations had pitched for a sovereign and viable Palestine state living side-by-side with Israel.
A declaration unveiled at the end of the second India-Arab foreign ministers’ meeting said the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a “just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the Middle East in accordance to international law, relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.” “They called for a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine based on 1967 borders, living side by side in peace with Israel. Both parties supported the practice of inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” it had said. PTI MPB RT RT
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