BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting Ends Without Joint Statement Due to Iran-UAE Disagreement

With Iran and UAE divided on the war in West Asia, India was unable to bridge the diplomatic gap within the BRICS Foreign Ministers and could not come up with a joint statement after the two-day meeting. Instead, Delhi on Friday issued a chair statement and outcome document trying to reflect the divergences between Iran and UAE on the war in West Asia. But, it also flagged two paragraphs on Palestine and Yemen to which Iran is learnt to have objected, since they targeted Hamas and Houthis. According to paragraph 21 of the chair’s statement issued after the meeting, “There were differing views among some members as regard to the situation in the West Asia/Middle East region. BRICS members expressed their respective national positions and shared a range of perspectives.” It said that “views articulated by them included the need for an early resolution of the current crisis, the value of dialogue and diplomacy, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, upholding international law, the importance of safe and unimpeded flow of maritime commerce through international waterways, and the protection of civilian infrastructure and civilian lives.” “The impact of recent developments on the global economic situation was stressed by many members,” it said, indicating the economic impact and rise in energy prices as a result of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In fact, at least two paragraphs in the 63-paragraph chair statement and outcome document had clearly spelt out differences, with an asterisk marked footnote, “*A member had reservations on some aspects of this paragraph”. In both cases, Iran was the member concerned. The BRICS grouping has not been able to come to a consensus on the war in West Asia as two of the members – the UAE and Iran — have not been able to agree on a common language on the conflict. With consensus eluding the grouping in the past, Delhi had issued a Chair’s summary on April 24 stating that “members expressed deep concern on the recent conflict in the Middle East (West Asia) and offered views and assessments on the matter”. In early March, Tehran had reached out to Delhi to take the lead in issuing a statement on behalf of the BRICS, currently chaired by India, condemning the US and Israeli strikes against Iran in the previous two weeks. This put Delhi in a diplomatic pickle given that it had not taken sides in the ongoing conflict. According to paragraph 26, “The Ministers recalled that the Gaza Strip is an inseparable part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. They underlined, in this regard, the importance of unifying the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under the Palestinian Authority, and reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine. They called on the international community to support the Palestinian Authority in undergoing reforms to fulfil the Palestinians’ legitimate aspirations for independence and statehood.” And it had “*A member had reservations on some aspects of this paragraph”. It is learnt that Iran had reservations since the paragraph gives credence to the “Palestinian Authority” and doesn’t give any space to Hamas. And in paragraph 29, it said, “The Ministers stressed the importance of ensuring the exercise of navigational rights and freedoms of vessels of all states in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait, in accordance with international law…”