Rio de janeiro: The leaders of the BRICS countries called on negotiators on Sunday, during a summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to reach an unconditional ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to end the 22-month-old war there.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, in a joint statement, the group said, “We urge all parties to engage in good faith in further negotiations to achieve an immediate, permanent, and unconditional ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip. They also called for “the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and all other parts of the occupied Palestinian territories.”
The group’s statement came as ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel resumed in Doha, amid mounting pressure to end the war that has been ongoing since October 2023. In a related context, the BRICS leaders expressed their conviction about the necessity of unifying the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories in the West Bank into a joint state with a central government.
The BRICS leaders’ statement read: “We note that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory. In this regard, we stress the importance of unifying the West Bank and Gaza Strip under the authority of the Palestinian Authority, and we affirm the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including their right to establish an independent State of Palestine.”
The leaders of the alliance also affirmed that “a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved through peaceful means and depends on the implementation of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination and return.”
The participants in the Rio de Janeiro meeting indicated their support for “the establishment of a sovereign and independent State of Palestine within the internationally recognized 1967 borders, to realize the vision of two states living side by side in peace and security.” The leaders of these countries said, “We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran that began on June 13, 2025, which constitute a violation of international law.” The statement did not explicitly mention Israel or the United States, which launched strikes on military and nuclear sites and other Iranian facilities.
They added, “We also express our grave concern about the deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear sites.” The leaders of the 11 BRICS countries affirmed that the strikes “constitute a violation of international law.”
BRICS includes Iran, Russia, and China, which have good relations with Tehran. BRICS leaders had differed on the tone to adopt in condemning the Israeli strikes on Iran and the war in the Gaza Strip, but ultimately adopted a strong tone at Tehran’s request.