APA-Cape Town (South Africa) Foreign ministers from the BRICS group of emerging nations have hailed the recent readmission of Syria into the Arab League and reiterated calls for a greater United Nations role in resolving global conflicts.
In a joint statement issued in Cape Town on Thursday, ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa said Syria’s return to the Arab League affirmed their support for efforts aimed at a political and comprehensive solution that respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.
“The ministers welcomed the readmission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the League of Arab States on 7 May 2023 and reaffirmed their support to all efforts conductive to a political and negotiated solution that respects Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement said.
Syria’s Arab League membership was revoked after President Bashar al-Assad ordered a crackdown on protesters in March 2011 that spiralled the country into a civil war that has since killed nearly half a million people and displaced another 23 million.
Relations between Damascus and her Arab League neighbours have, however, thawed in recent years amid as the bloc hopes for an ‘Arab-led political path’ to solving the Syrian crisis.
This saw the Arab League agreeing at its summit in Saudi Arabia last month to reinstate Syria’s membership.
The BRICS ministers reiterated the central role of the United Nations “in an international system in which sovereign states cooperate to maintain peace and security, advance sustainable development, ensure the promotion and protection of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, and promoting cooperation based on the spirit of solidarity, mutual respect, justice and equality.”
“The ministers expressed concern about the use of unilateral coercive measures, which are incompatible with the principles of the Charter of the UN and produce negative effects notably in the developing world,” the statement said.
The BRICS group of nations is fast emerging as a global political and economic voice, attracting admiration from most developing nations that are keen to see the transformation of the world order currently dominated by the United States and its Western allies.
This has seen more than a dozen developing countries seeking admission into the BRICS fold and the grouping announcing plans to introduce a currency to rival the US dollar in international trade.
BRICS economies currently constitute 23 percent of the world economy and 18 percent of the international trade.
NM/jn/APA