BRICS urges Israel, Palestine to resume talks

UFA, July 9. /TASS/. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) "believe that the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can contribute both to a positive outcome of other crises in the region and to the promotion of sustainable peace in the Middle East," the BRICS leaders said in a declaration signed after the summit in Ufa, the capital of the Russian republic of Bashkiria, on Thursday. "We call upon Israel and Palestine to resume negotiations leading to a two-state solution with a contiguous and viable Palestinian State existing side by side in peace with Israel within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders based on 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital," the declaration says. "We oppose the continuous Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Territories, which violate international law and seriously undermine peace efforts and threaten the concept of the two-state solution," the declaration says. The five leaders also welcomed "all initiatives aimed at achieving intra-Palestinian unity and urge the parties to this process to facilitate to full extent the implementation of the international obligations assumed by Palestine." "We encourage the states that participated in the 2014 International Donors Conference on Reconstruction of Gaza Strip in Cairo to fulfill their pledges and call on Israeli and Palestinian authorities to create the necessary conditions for channeling international aid to the people of Palestine," the declaration says. Read more