BRICS countries fail to agree joint declaration on Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Leaders of the BRICS bloc of developing nations and other countries they have invited to join from next year discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Tuesday, but failed to agree a joint declaration.

The virtual talks organised by current BRICS chair South Africa were the first between the group's leaders since Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation for a deadly raid by militant group Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7.

BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In August the grouping agreed to admit Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates from January, in a move aimed at accelerating its push to reshuffle a Western-dominated world order it sees as outdated.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told Tuesday's talks that diplomats did not have sufficient time to draft a declaration, reports Reuters.

"We've called upon all parties to exercise maximum restraint," Ramaphosa said in his summary of the discussions. "We affirmed ... that a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can be achieved by peaceful means."

Different leaders emphasised different points in their remarks.

Argentina's Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said his country recognised Israel's right "to legitimate self-defence while strictly respecting humanitarian international law", while China's Xi Jinping appeared to show more sympathy for the Palestinians.

"The root cause of the Palestinian-Israeli situation is the fact that the right of the Palestinian people to statehood, their right to existence, and their right of return have long been ignored," Xi said.

In televised comments to a virtual BRICS summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again blamed the crisis on the failure of US diplomacy in the Middle East.

"We call for joint efforts of the international community aimed at de-escalating the situation, a ceasefire and finding a political solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. And the BRICS states could play a key role in this work," Putin said.

He did not elaborate on how such an effort might be organised.

Russian and Western policy experts say Putin is trying to use the Gaza crisis to his geopolitical advantage as part of a strategy to court allies in developing countries and build what he calls a new world order to counter US dominance.

In previous comments he has repeatedly attacked US policy, urged Israel to show restraint and has expressed sympathy for the plight of Palestinians.

Last month he cautioned Israel against laying siege to Gaza in the same way that Nazi Germany besieged Leningrad during World War Two, saying a ground offensive there would lead to an "absolutely unacceptable" number of civilian casualties.

On Tuesday he said it was "terrible" that Palestinian children were dying in large numbers, adding that the sight of operations being performed on children without anaesthetics "evokes special feelings".

"Due to the sabotage of UN decisions, which clearly provide for the creation and peaceful coexistence of two independent and sovereign states - Israel and Palestine - more than one generation of Palestinians has been brought up in an atmosphere of injustice towards their people, and the Israelis cannot fully guarantee the security of their state," Putin said.