Committed to respect sovereignty, territorial integrity of all States: BRICS

We have also discussed our concerns over the humanitarian situation in and around Ukraine and expressed our support to efforts of the UN Secretary-General, UN agencies and ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross to provide humanitarian assistance in accordance with the basic principles of humanity, neutrality and impartiality established in UN General Assembly resolution 46182, it said.On Afghanistan, the BRICS said it strongly supports a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan while emphasising the need for respecting its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, national unity and non-interference in its internal affairs.

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) on Thursday committed to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States and stressed on peaceful resolution of disputes as they discussed the crisis in Ukraine and situation in Afghanistan among other pressing issues.

A declaration issued at the end of a China-hosted virtual summit of the five-nation bloc said the leaders supported talks between Russia and Ukraine and discussed their concerns over the humanitarian situation in and around the eastern European country.

The virtual summit was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

''We commit to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, stress our commitment to the peaceful resolution of differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises,'' the declaration said.

The reference to resolution of differences and disputes assumes significance as it came amid India's lingering border row with China in eastern Ladakh and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

''We have discussed the situation in Ukraine and recall our national positions as expressed at the appropriate fora, namely the UNSC and UNGA. We support talks between Russia and Ukraine,'' the declaration said. ''We have also discussed our concerns over the humanitarian situation in and around Ukraine and expressed our support to efforts of the UN Secretary-General, UN agencies and ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) to provide humanitarian assistance in accordance with the basic principles of humanity, neutrality and impartiality established in UN General Assembly resolution 46/182,'' it said.

On Afghanistan, the BRICS said it strongly supports a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan while emphasising the need for respecting its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, national unity and non-interference in its internal affairs. ''We emphasize the need for all sides to encourage the Afghanistan authorities to achieve national reconciliation through dialogue and negotiation, and to establish a broad-based and inclusive and representative political structure,'' the declaration said. ''We reaffirm the significance of relevant UNSC resolutions. We emphasize that the Afghan territory not to be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan to finance terrorist acts, and reiterate the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan,'' it said. The BRICS also called on the Afghan authorities to work towards combating drug-related crime to free Afghanistan from the scourge of drugs. ''We stress the need to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people and to safeguard the fundamental rights of all Afghans, including women, children, and different ethnic groups,'' it said.

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