India Rejects Joint Defense Statement at Key China-Led Summit
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Arab-Islamic summit rejects justifying Gaza war as Israeli self-defence
Leaders call for an end to Israel’s ‘barbaric’ actions in the Gaza Strip. They also call for the release of Palestinian prisoners. The meeting was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but was extended to include other countries. It is the first time the Arab League has held such a meeting since the Second World War. The leaders also called for the end of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the creation of a Palestinian state, which would be the first of its kind in the Middle East. The UN Security Council is expected to meet later this week to discuss the situation in the region, which has been in a state of war since the start of the Gaza conflict in 2007. The U.S. State Department said it was ‘deeply concerned’ about the situation, and called for an immediate end to the violence in the area, but did not give a date for when it would happen. The Arab League said it would hold a further meeting to discuss how to end the conflict.
An Arab-Islamic summit hosted by Saudi Arabia called for an end to the war in Gaza and rejected justifying Israel’s actions against Palestinians as self-defence.
The summit on Saturday condemned “Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, war crimes and barbaric and inhumane massacres by the occupation government”, a final communique said.
It also called for an end to the siege on Gaza, allowing humanitarian aid into the enclave and halting arms exports to Israel, following the meeting in Riyadh.
The leaders demanded that the UN Security Council adopt “a decisive and binding resolution” to halt Israel’s “aggression” in Gaza.
Originally, only the 22 members of the Arab League were expected to participate, but the meeting was later expanded to include the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a wider association of 57 mostly Muslim-majority states to which the Arab League countries belong.
Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra said that without consensus among the summit attendees, its outcomes are useless.
“People do understand that the Israelis don’t really care about what is happening at this summit between the OIC and Arab League leaders. When you look at the communique you get a sense that the Arab and Muslim leaders do not have a mechanism to push a ceasefire and humanitarian corridor,” Ahelbarra said.
“This summit was just for the sake of a semblance of unity … in the Arab and Muslim world. It’s a watered-down statement. Not all Arab leaders decided to attend this summit because of the huge differences and divisions among the key players of the summit. That’s why they put this vaguely worded statement for public consumption,” he added.
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In the opening remarks, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) called for an immediate cessation of military operations in Gaza and the release of all captives and prisoners.
“This is a humanitarian catastrophe that has proved the failure of the international community and the UN Security Council to put an end to Israel’s gross violations of international humanitarian laws, and prove the dual standards adopted by the world,” he said.
“We are certain the only cause for peace is the end of the Israeli occupation and illegal settlements, and restoration of the established rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of the state on 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” MBS added.
Turkish President Recep Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Israel was taking revenge on Gazan babies, children and women, as he renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire.
“What is urgent in Gaza is not pauses for a few hours, rather we need a permanent ceasefire,” he added. “We cannot put Hamas resisters defending their homeland in the same category as the occupiers.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas highlighted that besides Gaza, Israeli forces’ raids in the occupied West Bank have also escalated and called on the United States to put an end to “Israel’s aggression, the occupation, violation and desecration of our holy sites”.
“No military and security solutions are acceptable as they have all failed. We categorically reject any efforts to displace our people from Gaza or the West Bank,” Abbas added.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani questioned for how long the international community will treat Israel as if it is above international law.
“The international world remains immune in front of all these scenes. Who could have imagined that hospitals could be publicly shelled in the 21st century?” he asked.
‘A unified collective position’
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the joint Arab League and OIC meeting was being held “in response to the exceptional circumstances taking place in the Palestinian Gaza Strip as countries feel the need to unify efforts and come out with a unified collective position”.
The OIC includes member states from across the Islamic world, including the Palestinian territories’ neighbours Egypt and Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the president of Egypt, emphasised that the policy of “collective punishment” by killing, siege and forcible transfer, is unacceptable.
“This cannot be interpreted as self-defence and must be stopped immediately”.
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With Iran repeatedly warning that the scope of war will expand if Israel does not stop its attacks, President Ebrahim Raisi also attended the meeting in Riyadh, marking the first visit by an Iranian president in 11 years.
“Blind bombardment against Gaza must stop,” Raisi said, adding that “Islamic governments should designate the army of the occupying and aggressor regime [Israel] as a terrorist organisation”.
Raisi highlighted that Washington is supporting Israel in the United Nations and vetoes resolutions that prevent the killing of Palestinians.
“It has paved the way for Israel to kill more, to bombard more and to shell more.”
Hold Israel ‘accountable’
Israel has not relented in its attacks on the Gaza Strip despite increasing calls for an immediate ceasefire, especially from the Arab and Islamic worlds.
The non-stop air raids and ground assaults – which came in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas which killed about 1,200 Israelis – have killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
Israel has significantly ramped up its attacks on hospitals in recent days, and the UN has said the lives of one million children in Gaza are “hanging on by a thread”.
The Arab League consists of 22 countries, including Syria, which was earlier this year accepted back after Arab leaders restarted talks with President Bashar al-Assad following a decade of civil war in the country.
The bloc’s Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki said this week that it aims to demonstrate “how the Arabs will move on the international scene to stop the aggression, support Palestine and its people, condemn the Israeli occupation, and hold it accountable for its crimes”.
The joint summit comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity across the region and beyond. Saudi Arabia had hosted an African-Saudi summit in Riyadh on Friday, where MBS called for an end to the war.
Leaders of Russia, Iran, Turkey and Pakistan convened in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on Thursday for talks that included the situation in Gaza.
Ukraine peace summit: Diplomatic support and political snubs – DW – 06
More than 90 nations gathered in Switzerland to discuss peace in Ukraine. But China, India and South Africa were among those who did not attend. Ukraine’s president said the conference was about “maintaining the international order” He also called for the return of all the Ukrainian refugees who have been displaced by the conflict in the east of the country. The conference was the first of its kind in the world and took place in the Swiss resort of Lausanne, near the town of La Chaux-de-Garennes, in the canton of Basel. It was also the first time a major international conference had been held in the area since the end of World War II. The event was organized by the European Union, the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). It was held in response to the Ukrainian government’s call for an end to the conflict, which has been raging for more than a year. It also came as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said he would not back down from his stance on Ukraine.
Tucked high in the Swiss mountains, the Bürgenstock resort is no stranger to making history. It has hosted movie stars and power brokers throughout the 20th century, and in 2002, the Sudanese government and rebels brokered a cease-fire deal here.
But as leaders, ministers and envoys of more than 90 nations descended on the mountaintop venue for first-of-their-kind talks on bringing peace to Ukraine, the goals were more modest. Russia was not invited and showed no interest in attending, prompting its ally China to boycott the talks. Swiss hosts said they hoped only to lay some groundwork for future negotiations, inching forward on a long path to peace.
The Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland hosted scores of world leaders for talks on how to secure peace in Ukraine Image: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
Still, as talks began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted historic events were afoot.
Getting more than 50 world leaders into a room to talk about peace in Ukraine is no mean feat. Securing representation from dozens more to include all continents is even harder.
It was the result of months of painstaking diplomacy and came together in spite of a Russian political counteroffensive aimed at denigrating the gathering.
The two-day talks welcomed nations beyond the usual guestlist at meet-ups of Kyiv’s backers, a step away from the accusations of echo-chamber politics often leveled at Western powers.
Kenya’s president condemned Russia but also asked “all parties to the war” to “soften their positions” — while Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister spoke of “difficult compromises” ahead.
This wide invite list meant cracks between Ukraine’s backers and key players in Africa, Asia and Latin America were also on display in the Swiss mountains. And the snubs and no-shows spoke volumes too.
90 countries were represented at the two-day talks Image: Michael Buholzer/REUTERS
Dozens back statement on Ukraine’s territorial integrity
The talks culminated in a statement backed by the vast majority of attendees — some 80 countries including all European Union member-states, the United States, Ghana, Kenya, Argentina, Colombia, the Philippines, Qatar and Guatemala.
“The ongoing war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine continues to cause large-scale human suffering and destruction, and to create risks and crises with global repercussions for the world,” the communique reads.
“We reaffirm our commitment to refraining from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, the principles of sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine.”
Signatories also condemn nuclear threats, warn against weaponization of food security, and call for a “complete prisoner exchange” and the return of “all deported and unlawfully displaced Ukrainian children.”
India, South Africa, Indonesia refuse to sign
But the words were not rubber stamped by everyone in the room. Diplomatic heavyweights India, South Africa, Indonesia, and Mexico were among several countries which attended the talks but chose not to back the final text.
Those nations had already signaled some reticence by sending diplomats or ministers — not their leaders — to Switzerland.
Claude Rakisits, an analyst with the Brussels-based Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy, is not surprised. He says some nations “don’t want to rock the boat” as they try to balance ties with the West, and with Russia and China.
Ahead of the summit, Kyiv accused Moscow and Beijing of piling diplomatic pressure on other states to convince them not to come, which China denies. Rakisits says elements of individual nations’ relationships likely fed into calculations about whether to heed the Swiss invitation — like India’s reliance on Russia for weapons supplies or South Africa’s historic ties to Moscow.
“This conference is about much more than Ukraine. It’s about maintaining the international order,” Rakisits told DW.
Ukraine’s allies say the fact that 90 nations showed up is ‘significant,’ despite some countries choosing to snub the final statement Image: EPA/MICHAEL BUHOLZER
Ukraine says summit shows international support ‘not weakening’
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy rebuffed questions about whether he was disappointed by some states choosing not to sign the statement, instead saying the fact scores did join was “a great success.”
“This summit says that international support is not weakening. It is strong,” he told journalists on Sunday.
Kyiv’s Western allies echoed the optimistic tone.
“It is definitely the largest and most senior gathering of countries across the world to talk about how we move to peace in Ukraine since the outbreak of the war. That in itself is significant,” Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris told DW on the sidelines of the talks.
Russia claims it wants peace in Ukraine but demands the country cede large swathes of its territory Image: Valentina Pevtsova/Pool Sputnik Kremlin via AP/dpa/picture alliance
Russia’s proposal rebuffed by Western leaders
On the eve of the summit, Russia unveiled its own purported plan for peace — one which demands Ukraine cede large swathes of its territory and abandon its ambitions of joining the Western military alliance NATO.
Rakisits said the proposal was likely part of Moscow’s bid to derail and distract from the talks in Switzerland. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed it as “not serious.”
“I don’t think Putin is in any position to be setting preconditions,” Ireland’s Simon Harris told DW. “The reality is that any peace settlement, any peace process has to be in line with international law. And all international law respects the territorial integrity of a country.”
But as leaders filed out past the “path to peace” slogans adorning walls and walkways around the venue, there was little doubt that real progress is not achievable without Moscow.
And countries gathered in Switzerland remained at odds on how to make that happen.
Leaders failed to agree on how to include Russia in future talks Image: Moncloa/EUROPA PRESS/dpa/picture alliance
“One key question remains: How and when can Russia be included in the process?” Swiss President Viola Amherd said as talks closed on Sunday.
“The discussions over the past two days have shown that there are different points of view. All the more important is our understanding that the path toward peace in Ukraine must be pursued on the basis of international law.”
Path laid for follow-up talks?
No official follow-up summit was announced, but Swiss President Amherd said several states expressed willingness to host future talks. Canada meanwhile announced plans to gather foreign ministers for talks on humanitarian issues in Ukraine.
“It’s clear that to end the war you need both parties at the table,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters outside the venue.
“My job and the job of all Ukrainian diplomats and the top priority of President Zelenskyy is to bring Ukraine to this table in the strongest position possible.”
Edited by: Rana Taha