This Friday, the Foreign Minister expressed regret over the US decision to reject the UN Secretary General’s call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and insisted on the path of dialogue.
“Of course we regret this. We supported the vetoed resolution,” João Gomes Craviño told Lusa on the sidelines of the “Manuel Antonio da Mota – Uma Vida in Angola” awards ceremony, which took place in Luanda.
Cravinho stressed that this was Portugal’s position and insisted on the urgent need for a humanitarian ceasefire.
“There must be access to humanitarian aid for the population of Gaza, we also believe it is necessary for the unconditional release of hostages in the Gaza Strip to occur, and we believe that the ceasefire will go in this direction,” he stressed.
The head of Portuguese diplomacy said that it is necessary to continue the conversation, noting that there has been an evolution in the positions of the UN and the United States itself, Israel and the Gaza Strip.
“We believe that by continuing the dialogue, we will find solutions that will be satisfactory for everyone. It is imperative that there is a ceasefire – and I repeat this call here – although it is not permanent, it should be temporary, which will allow humanitarian access to the population, which allows us to start talking about a more stable future, namely through a two-state solution,” the minister emphasized.
When asked by Lusa what could force the United States to change its position on the conflict, Gomes Craviño noted that this is already happening, although not always noticeably.
“But when we talk to American politicians, we understand that their position is not so far from ours, their interpretation of the path to achieving this goal may be different,” he noted.
This Friday, the United States vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, despite an unprecedented call by the organization’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The resolution was presented by the United Arab Emirates and received support from all Arab and Islamic countries, as well as Russia and China.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday invoked Article 99 of the United Nations Charter for the first time since becoming Secretary-General, asking the Security Council, the only UN body whose decisions are binding, to “avoid a humanitarian catastrophe” in enclave and approve a ceasefire.
At a Security Council meeting convened after Antonio Guterres’ unprecedented call, the United Nations leader called on the UN body, whose decisions are binding, to make every effort to achieve “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the protection of civilians and the urgent delivery of life-saving aid.”
“In my opinion, it is clear that there is a serious risk of exacerbating existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security,” he stressed, further condemning that “there is no effective protection of civilians.”
“I am afraid that the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region,” Guterres said.