Don’t do anything foolish in West Asia: BRICS

NEW DELHI: BRICS, the club of five emerging economies, on Thursday cautioned the western countries against any military adventurism in West Asia, as it urged the international community to avo
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Chinese President Hu Jintao. PTI
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Chinese President Hu Jintao. PTI

NEW DELHI: BRICS, the club of five emerging economies, on Thursday cautioned the western countries against any military adventurism in West Asia, as it urged the international community to avoid “political disruptions” that could affect trade flows and spike up oil prices.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired the two-hour plenary session of the fourth BRICS summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) here.

“In our restricted session, we discussed the ongoing turmoil in West Asia and agreed to work together for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. We must avoid political disruptions that create volatilities in global energy markets and affect trade flows,” said Manmohan in his initial statement.

“The continued prosperity of BRICS countries is linked closely to the geopolitical environment,” he added.

In the 10-page Delhi Declaration, the concerns of the developing situation in Iran and Syria were reflected in the amount of space devoted to West Asia.

“The situation concerning Iran cannot be allowed to escalate into conflict, the disastrous consequences of which will be in no one’s interest,” the declaration said.

“We are concerned about the situation that is emerging around Iran’s nuclear issue,” said the statement signed by the leaders of the nations accounting 43 percent of the world population.

The five countries asserted that Iran had a “crucial role” in the region’s development and prosperity, and also recognised its right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy “consistent with international obligations”.

It urged all the parties to resolve their issues through dialogue, including between Iran and International Atomic Energy Agency, in accordance with provisions of the UN Security Council resolutions. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, in her plenary statement, said that it was important to “give up escalation of rhetoric” on Iran, and called on the stakeholders to have a “room for compromise”.  She also railed against the indiscriminate use of international sanctions, as well as unilateral sanctions imposed by a particular country.

Syria Issue

The Delhi Declaration had a more consensual approach to Syria conflicts with the BRICS  calling for an immediate end to all violence and violations of human rights in Syria.

“Global interests would best be served by dealing with the crisis through peaceful means that encourage broad national dialogues that reflect the legitimate aspirations of all sections of Syrian society and respect Syrian independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty,” it said, adding that the BRICS nations supported former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s approach to the crisis. The BRICS countries will not allow outside military intervention in Syria, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.

“We believe that it is important not to allow foreign intervention in Syrian affairs, let the government and opposition launch dialogue to find an amicable solution to the issue,” he said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao said that the bloc could “enhance political mutual trust through dialogue and exchanges”.

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