Upon arriving in Asia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued intense diplomatic work related to the war between Israel and Hamas.
The head of American diplomacy called on his G7 colleagues to reach a consensus to resolve the crisis.
Speaking at the Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan, Blinken said it was critical for the group to demonstrate unity, as it had done on Russia’s war in Ukraine and other major issues.
According to him, it is necessary to prevent existing disagreements over Gaza from deepening.
“This is a very important moment for the G7 to come together in the face of this crisis and take a clear position,” Blinken told Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.
The devastating conflict in Gaza and efforts to mitigate the dire humanitarian consequences of the Israeli response to the deadly Hamas attack on October 7 were one of the main topics of the meeting, but, in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Fears that North Korea may be preparing a new nuclear test and concerns about China’s growing global assertiveness are far from the only crisis on the agenda.
A tentative consensus appears to be emerging on the situation in the Gaza Strip, and at least four G7 members have issued statements in support of a strong common position. U.S. officials said they hope for a statement in which the G7 expresses a common position. position after meetings end Wednesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that “G7 unity is more necessary than ever given the situation in Israel and Palestine, the situation in Ukraine and the challenges in the Indo-Pacific region,” his office said.
The office said in a statement that Kishida “commended the Biden administration’s leadership and diplomatic efforts on this issue.”
“You have our broadest support,” Kamikawa told Blinken.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Bärbock said that “as a G7 country, we make it clear that Israel has the right and obligation to protect its population and its people within the framework of international law.”
He said he had discussed with many partners “how we can finally achieve a humanitarian ceasefire in terms of time and geography.”
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley told reporters that his government would only support a “humanitarian pause” limited to a specific time period and geographic area, rather than a broad ceasefire.
“First of all, we have seen and heard absolutely nothing that leads us to believe that Hamas leaders are serious about a ceasefire,” he said, adding that a ceasefire would prevent Israel from defending itself.
Blinken is trying to significantly increase the amount of humanitarian aid sent to the Gaza Strip, persuade Israel to accept “pauses” in its military operation to deliver aid, remove more civilians and prevent the war from spreading.
Blinken described the effort as a “work in progress.”
