JAKARTA: Indonesia’s foreign minister said talks on US President Donald Trump’s Gaza “Board of Peace,” of which the Southeast Asian nation is a key troop-contributing member, were on hold due to the Middle East war.
The US and Israeli air war against Iran has killed scores of civilians, thrown global air transport into chaos and sent oil prices surging after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“All BoP discussions are on hold as all attention has shifted to the situation in Iran,” Minister Sugiono, who goes by one name, said late on Tuesday in response to a question on calls for Indonesia to exit the peace board in the aftermath of the fresh conflict in the Middle East.
“We will also consult with our friends and colleagues in the Gulf because they are also under attack,” Sugiono told reporters after attending an event alongside President Prabowo Subianto.
Indonesia’s participation on the board has drawn criticism from experts and Muslim groups at home, who say it compromises the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause.
Indonesia backs a two-state solution.
The Indonesian Ulema Council, a leading clerical body, said on March 1 that Indonesia should leave the board, citing Trump’s attack on Iran as rendering the initiative ineffective.
Meanwhile, Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, said Jakarta should use its position to press Israel and the United States to halt the violence.
Trump first proposed the board in September when he unveiled a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza, later expanding its remit to address other global conflicts typically handled by the United Nations.
Sugiono also said Prabowo is willing to be a mediator in the Iran war in a bid “to cool down and de-escalate the situation in the region.”
Indonesia is readying 1,000 troops for potential deployment in Gaza by early April as part of a proposed multinational peacekeeping force, its army said, as part of the UN-mandated International Stabilization Force. It has also been given the deputy commander role of the force.
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Indonesia: Discussions with Board of Peace ‘on hold’ due to Iran war
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Indonesia: Discussions with Board of Peace ‘on hold’ due to Iran war
- Indonesia’s participation on the board has drawn criticism from experts and Muslim groups at home
Russia is the only winner of Middle East war, EU’s Costa says
BRUSSELS: Russia has so far been the only winner from the war in the Middle East as energy prices soar and attention for its war against Ukraine has faded, EU Council President Antonio Costa said on Tuesday.
“So far, there is only one winner in this war – Russia,” Costa said in a speech to EU ambassadors in Brussels.
“It gains new resources to finance its war against Ukraine as energy prices rise. It profits from the diversion of military capabilities that could otherwise have been sent to support Ukraine. And it benefits from reduced attention to the Ukrainian front as the conflict in the Middle East takes center stage.”
Costa stressed the need for the EU to protect the international rules-based order, which he said was now being challenged by the United States, and for all parties in the Middle East to return to the negotiating table.
“Freedom and human rights cannot be achieved through bombs. Only international law upholds them,” he said.
“We must avoid further escalation. Such a path threatens the Middle East, Europe, and beyond.”
“So far, there is only one winner in this war – Russia,” Costa said in a speech to EU ambassadors in Brussels.
“It gains new resources to finance its war against Ukraine as energy prices rise. It profits from the diversion of military capabilities that could otherwise have been sent to support Ukraine. And it benefits from reduced attention to the Ukrainian front as the conflict in the Middle East takes center stage.”
Costa stressed the need for the EU to protect the international rules-based order, which he said was now being challenged by the United States, and for all parties in the Middle East to return to the negotiating table.
“Freedom and human rights cannot be achieved through bombs. Only international law upholds them,” he said.
“We must avoid further escalation. Such a path threatens the Middle East, Europe, and beyond.”
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