India calls on concerned parties in Middle East to stop supporting terrorist groups

India on Monday, October 26, called on concerned parties in West Asia to completely stop support to terrorist forces such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and others. India during the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on 'The Situation in the Middle East' underlined that political instability, long-festering conflicts, sectarian divides, issue of refugees and terrorism continue to plague the region.

India's permanent representative at the UN TS Tirumurti, in his statement, highlighted New Delhi's stand on 'interlinked and mutually reinforcing challenges' faced by the people of the Middle East. He also noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the threats posed by these challenges.

"It is an unfortunate reality that the interlinked and mutually reinforcing challenges faced by the people of the Middle East have not yet been resolved. Political instability, long-festering conflicts, sectarian divides, issue of refugees and terrorism continue to plague the region. The COVID-pandemic has only exacerbated the threats posed by these challenges," the statement read.

India calls on concerned parties

"India calls on concerned parties to completely stop support to terrorist forces like ISIL and others. India also urges all parties in the region to work constructively and in good faith to promote peace, stability and development for the benefit of all people in the Middle East," it added.

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Tirumurti also said that India has invested much in the peace and stability of the region by deploying its personnel as part of UN peacekeeping forces, through humanitarian assistance, capacity building and development cooperation. India has assured to continue its contribution towards peace-building in the Middle East, he said.

Emphasizing that Palestinian aspirations for a sovereign and independent state are yet to be fulfilled, Tirumurti said India requests Israel and Palestine to resume direct negotiations at the earliest and asked the international community to take concrete steps towards resuming and facilitating these negotiations quickly.

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'India has been unwavering in its commitment to the Palestinian'

"India has been unwavering in its commitment to the Palestinian cause and continues to remain supportive of a peaceful negotiated resolution of the Palestinian issue. India has supported the two-State solution as a just and acceptable solution to the conflict. Establishment of a Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel, within mutually agreed borders should be achieved through negotiations directly by the two parties," the statement read.

Tirumurti further asserted that any stalemate could strengthen the hands of extremists and shut the door to cooperation thereby jeopardising the security, prosperity and stability of the people on both sides and the region. He further remarked that India supports Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's call for an international conference organised by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to engage all concerned parties in a meaningful peace process.

Furthermore, New Delhi has also appreciated the agreement between the two main Palestinian political parties-Fatah and Hamas-for holding Parliamentary and Presidential elections. The elections for the Palestinian National Council will help fulfil the democratic aspirations of the Palestinian people, he said.

India welcomes agreements for normalisation between Israel-UAE-Bahrain

Meanwhile, India also welcomed the agreements for normalisation of relations between Israel and UAE and Bahrain. Tirumurti said that India has always promoted peace and stability in West Asia, which is its extended neighbourhood.

Commenting on the armed conflict in Syria, India said that rising inflation near halt in economic activities and severe sanctions have accentuated the humanitarian crisis in the country destroyed by decade long conflict which has claimed over 400,000 lives and displaced 6.2 million people internally and forced another 6.3 million people to seek shelter in neighbouring countries.

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The Indian envoy further said it is not only contributing to the return of normalcy and rebuilding of Syria but has also consistently called for a comprehensive and peaceful resolution of the Syrian conflict through a Syrian-led dialogue.

The envoy further stated that India remains concerned about the security and humanitarian situation in Yemen and encourages all parties to engage constructively with the UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths for early finalisation of the Joint Declaration that paves the way for a peaceful political transition in Yemen. Tirumurti also extended its solidarity with Lebanon after the August 4 blast that brought destruction to vast swathes of Beirut and inflicted heavy loss of lives.

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(With ANI inputs)