Rio De Janeiro, Brazil — Brazil said Thursday that the Group of 20 nations, meeting in Rio de Janeiro, broadly backs a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
There was “virtual unanimity for the two-state solution as the only possible solution,” Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told journalists at the close of a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the world’s biggest economies.
“The only reason (Vieira) didn’t simply say ‘unanimity’ is that not every speaker addressed the issue,” a Brazilian foreign ministry source told AFP.
“Every (minister) that addressed the issue voiced support” for a two-state solution, “and it was a lot” of ministers, he said.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had urged Vieira to use his closing statement on the meeting “to explain to the world that at the G20, everybody was in favor of” a two-state solution, with an independent Palestine co-existing with Israel.
“Everybody here, everybody, I haven’t heard anyone against it. It was a strong request for a two-state solution,” Borrell told journalists.
“The common denominator is that there’s not going to be peace, there’s not going to be sustainable security for Israel, unless the Palestinians have a clear political prospect to build (their) own state.”
Israel faces international pressure, including from key ally the United States, for the creation of a Palestinian state — something the Israeli parliament has overwhelmingly rejected.
Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip was a central focus of the meeting of top G20 diplomats, along with Russia’s war in Ukraine.