Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, said India has acted impartially while serving as BRICS Chair. Speaking to ANI ahead of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting hosted by India, Gharibabadi stated, “India has shown impartiality as Chair of BRICS.”
He added that Iran supports issuing a BRICS declaration and does not want the grouping to appear divided. Iran urged a unified message from the summit and said it wants the India-hosted meeting to succeed.
Commenting on recent regional tensions, Gharibabadi referenced the conflict that began on February 28 between Israel and the United States on one side and Iran on the other, and described the current situation with the US as a frosty ceasefire. He accused a neighbouring country of pushing to include a condemnation of Iran for attacks on its neighbours, a charge Iran rejects. “We have not attacked neighbouring countries,” he said, and alleged that neighbouring states handed over territory to the US from which attacks on Iran have been launched. He said Iran has documented those incidents in a 500-page submission to the United Nations and said such attacks are unacceptable.
Last month’s meeting of BRICS Deputy Foreign Ministers and Special Envoys on the Middle East and North Africa in New Delhi ended without full consensus, so a Chair’s Summary was issued. The summary said members expressed deep concern about the recent conflict in the Middle East and offered views and assessments.
Issues discussed included the Palestine question and the Gaza situation, humanitarian aid and the role of UNRWA, a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism, the ceasefire in Lebanon and the unacceptability of attacks on UNIFIL, post-conflict reconstruction in Syria, a political settlement in Yemen, stability and development in Iraq, the political process in Libya, and the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
(This report is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received.)
