The two-state solution as the “only possible” for peace between Israelis and Palestinians received broad support among the G20 countries meeting Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, where the war in the Gaza Strip was at the heart of the debates.
Closing a two-day meeting of foreign ministers of the countries of this group, the head of Brazilian diplomacy, Mauro Vieira, underlined to the press “the virtual unanimity in support of the two-state solution as the only possible one for the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“He didn’t just say ‘unanimity’ because not all the interventions focused on the subject, but those who came forward were in favor, and there were many of them,” one person explained to AFP. Brazilian diplomatic source, whose country has held the rotating presidency of the G20 since December.
“I asked the Brazilian minister in his oral conclusion […] to address this subject and explain to the world that at the G20 everyone was in favor of this solution” consisting of the coexistence of Israel and an independent Palestinian state, the head of European diplomacy told journalists , Josep Borrell.
While four months of conflict between the Israeli army and the Islamist movement Hamas have generated a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, the United States, Israel’s main supporter, vetoed this week a resolution in favor of a cease-fire. immediate humanitarian fire in the Gaza Strip.
“We plead for an agreement to be reached as quickly as possible to ensure the release of the hostages [retenus par le Hamas] and which results in a prolonged humanitarian ceasefire,” defended the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, according to the text of his intervention during the plenary session on Wednesday, transmitted by the State Department.
Israel’s opposition
On Wednesday, the Israeli Parliament overwhelmingly voted for a resolution proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposing any “unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state”, which according to the text would amount to rewarding the “unprecedented terrorism” of Hamas.
This vote took place shortly after the Washington Post published that the United States and several Arab allies were working on a comprehensive plan to establish lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace after the end of the war, including a timetable for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state.
The unprecedented attack launched on October 7 by Hamas commandos infiltrated in southern Israel left more than 1,160 dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas and launched an offensive that left 29,410 dead in the Gaza Strip, the vast majority civilians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Putin’s Russia
Two years after the start of the Russian invasion, the war in Ukraine has also imposed itself on the G20 agenda, as has the death in prison, announced on Friday, of Alexeï Navalny, main opponent of Russian President Vladimir Poutine.
“Several countries” participating in the G20 meeting reiterated their condemnation of the war, said the Brazilian minister.
“Not only from the G7 countries but also from many other countries, there has been very broad agreement on the imperative to put an end to Russian aggression,” Mr. Blinken insisted to journalists.
The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, attacked the West for the accusations launched against Russia after the death of Navalny.
“They behave like prosecutor, accuser, judge and executioner – all at the same time,” he told journalists, criticizing “hysteria”.
MM. Blinken and Lavrov have had no bilateral contact. Their last interview dates from a G20 meeting in India in March 2023.
Despite pressure from Western countries to condemn the Russian invasion, the group’s previous summit, in September in New Delhi, resulted in a vague final communiqué.
The text denounced the use of force, but without citing Vladimir Putin’s Russia, which maintains close ties with G20 members such as India and Brazil.
It was the first high-level meeting of the year for the G20, which will hold its annual summit of heads of state in November in Rio. Beyond current conflicts, Brazil wishes to advance the fight against hunger and global warming, as well as a reform of global governance.