BRICS should play ‘due role’ in bringing peace to West Asia: Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting with PM Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit on Saturday. (Reuters)

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday said that BRICS countries should firmly stand on the right side of history, calling on the grouping to play its “due role” in bringing peace in West Asia. Xi said that as the situation in West Asia and the Gulf region continues to evolve, the war there has caused serious losses to people across the region and does not serve the common interests of the international community.

Xi also called on BRICS countries to “pioneer in innovative development, as well as in maintaining peace and stability, boosting mutual learning among civilizations, and improving global governance, noting that BRICS countries should steer the international order toward greater justice and equity, and work together to build a community with a shared future for humanity,” Xinhua reported.

The Chinese President said it has been 20 years of self-reliance and self-strengthening, adding that BRICS countries have actively explored development paths suited to their own national conditions, setting an example of self-strengthening through unity among emerging markets and developing countries.

This has also been 20 years of standing together through thick and thin, Xi noted.

Xi called on BRICS to be a pioneer in upholding peace and stability.

BRICS countries should uphold a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and oppose the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, he said. They should reject violations of other countries’ sovereignty and interference in their internal affairs, and play a constructive role in resolving hotspot issues, making a distinctive BRICS contribution to finding solutions that address both symptoms and root causes, he said.

Noting that the situation in West Asia remains complex and fluid, Xi said this war has inflicted serious losses on the people of all countries in the region and is against the common interests of the international community.

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Xi said he has set out four propositions on safeguarding and promoting peace and stability in West Asia which are aimed at de-escalation, ending hostilities and promoting peace.

He urged relevant parties to follow the direction of political settlement and work for a permanent, comprehensive ceasefire.

China will work with fellow BRICS members to play a due role in bringing peace and tranquility to the region, he said.

Xi stressed that the world is undergoing accelerated transformation unseen in a century, the Global South is rapidly growing in strength and the trend toward a multipolar world is unstoppable.

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In a veiled criticism of the US, Xi said countercurrents of unilateralism and power politics are surging, multilateralism and the international order are coming under strain, and deficits in peace, development, security and governance continue to widen.

Putin on BRICS’s credibility

President Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin, said, “Partnership within BRICS is consistently built on the principles of equality, good-neighbourliness, and mutual consideration of interests along with respect for one another’s cultural and civilisational diversity, history, traditions, and values. It stands to reason, then, that the credibility and influence of BRICS around the globe are steadily growing”.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi, said, “Sustainable security depends on full respect for national sovereignty and rejecting the model of security for some and insecurity for others.”

“Preventing the misuse of countries’ territories to threaten their neighbours is an inviolable principle. BRICS must stand against the normalisation of attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities,” he said.