West Asia peace talks must acknowledge ‘initial aggression’ by US, Israel, says Anwar
The prime minister says there is a reluctance by countries to recognise the origins of the conflict.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim meeting world leaders during dinner at the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, on Saturday night. (PMO pic)
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said there is a reluctance among countries to acknowledge the origins of the West Asian conflict between the US and Israel, and Iran.
Anwar said condemning attacks by Iran is not inconsistent with identifying what he sees as the initial act that set the latest conflict in motion.
In an interview with NDTV in the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, he called for an end to the fighting, but said any discussion towards it must begin with the 'initial aggression' by Washington and Tel Aviv
"The latest so-called conflict with Iran is due to the initial aggression of the United States, of course, initially with Israel," he said.
"And there is reluctance of many of the countries to state the facts. The fact is that, stop that sort of continued aggression."
Anwar said a peaceful resolution to the conflict is necessary when asked whether Iran and the US were both adopting "maximalist positions" that could make such a settlement more difficult.
"Now, how do you resolve it? Stop the violence. I mean, the violence perpetrated by the United States or Israel or Iran. I'm with it," he said.
Discussions with world leaders
Anwar discussed various issues, including global geopolitical developments, with several world leader attending the BRICS Summit, Bernama reported.
Among those he met during last night's dinner were Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto, Kazakhstan president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Uzbekistan deputy prime minister Jamshid Kuchkarov.
He also met United Nations secretary-general António Guterres and World Trade Organization director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
“Our discussions touched on global geopolitical developments, particularly the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as well as tensions in West Asia,” he said in a post on his social media account.
He said the situation called for unity among the people and world leaders to stop the bloodshed in West Asia and work towards a just and lasting solution.