Blitz Bureau
NEW YORK: The Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies issued a stern warning on September 23, stating that the ongoing cycle of actions and counteractions in the Middle East threatens to escalate into a broader war that could yield no benefits for any nation involved.
Dangerous spiral
“Actions and counter-reactions risk magnifying this dangerous spiral of violence and dragging the entire Middle East into a broader regional conflict with unimaginable consequences,” the G7 said in a statement after meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. “They called for a stop to the current destructive cycle, while emphasising that no country stands to gain from a further escalation in the Middle East.”
During the UNGA session, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson said he was “gravely alarmed” as focus shifted from Gaza to Lebanon, and the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell warned, “we are almost in a full-fledged war.”
“Israel’s” closest ally, the United States, reiterated its warning against a full-scale ground invasion of Lebanon, with a senior US official pledging to present “concrete” proposals for de-escalation at the UN this week. “We’ve got some concrete ideas we’re going to be discussing with allies and partners this week to try to figure out the way forward on this,” the senior US official said as world leaders gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly.
Focus on Gaza situation
On another note, Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy told Sputnik in an interview that the situation in Gaza will remain the primary focus of the UN General Assembly Week, despite efforts by certain countries to prioritise Ukraine.
“I’m absolutely sure that, of course, the questions of the Middle East and Gaza will be at the core of most statements during the general debate, no matter how the others would try to shift the focus on Ukraine and maybe some other issues,” Polyanskiy said when asked whether there might be a lot of action in the UN week on Gaza.
