JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
South Africa will chair an
extraordinary virtual meeting of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South
Africa) on Tuesday "on the situation in Gaza and the Middle East",
the South African presidency announced in a press release on Monday.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa listens to the three-day summit
Russian President Vladimir
Putin will participate, the Kremlin said. South African President Cyril
Ramaphosa, "as chairman of the BRICS group of nations", convenes
"an extraordinary joint meeting" on the situation in Gaza on Tuesday
at 12 p.m. GMT.
The other heads of state of
the BRICS will participate in this virtual meeting, as well as the leaders of
the countries invited, during the recent summit of the group in Johannesburg,
to join it next January, namely Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran
and the Arab Emirates combined.
The South African president,
who on Friday requested an investigation by the International Criminal Court
(ICC) into the current war between Israel and the Gaza Strip, along with four
other states, will open this BRICS meeting, where each of the other member
countries or guests, should then speak, specifies the Pretoria press release.
UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres will also participate in this meeting, after which the leaders
"are expected to adopt a joint declaration on the situation in the Middle
East, in particular in Gaza".
The South African government
announced in early November that it would recall its diplomats stationed in
Israel for consultations, to "signal" its "concern" about
the "atrocities" committed, according to it, by Israel in Gaza.
Pretoria has long been a
staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, with the ANC, its ruling party
since the advent of democracy in the country, often drawing parallels with its
own historic struggle against apartheid.
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