G20 nations broadly back a two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East, host Brazil has said after a meeting of top diplomats, adding to pressure on Israel to accept an independent Palestinian state, AFP reports.
The message from the meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro came a day after Israel’s parliament overwhelmingly voted for a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to oppose any “unilateral” recognition of a Palestinian state.
More than four months into Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip, the Group of 20 leading economies voiced “virtual unanimity for the two-state solution as the only possible solution” to the crisis, Brazil’s top diplomat, Mauro Vieira, told journalists at the close of the two-day meeting.
“The only reason (Vieira) didn’t simply say ‘unanimity’ is that not every speaker addressed the issue,” a Brazilian foreign ministry source told AFP. “Every (minister) that addressed the issue voiced support” for a two-state solution, “and it was a lot” of ministers, he said.
The meeting brought together top diplomats including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
