South Africa is presiding over an exceptional virtual summit today, Tuesday, for BRICS countries, which include Brazil, Russia, India, and China, focused on discussing "the situation in Gaza and the Middle East," according to a statement from the presidency in Pretoria. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, as the head of the BRICS group, called for a "joint extraordinary meeting" regarding the situation in Gaza at 12:00 GMT.
The Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in the meeting, stating, "On November 21, the Russian president will attend an extraordinary BRICS summit (via video) to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict." Following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, the Kremlin called for a ceasefire, emphasizing that the only way to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East is to establish a Palestinian state.
Putin blamed the United States for the bloody conflict, accusing it of monopolizing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process for years without managing to find solutions. The South African president, who alongside four other countries requested the International Criminal Court to conduct an investigation into the ongoing war, will open the meeting where each attending country is expected to speak, as per the presidential statement.
Also attending will be UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and the leaders are expected to conclude with a "joint statement regarding the situation in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza." In early November, the South African government called back its diplomats from Israel for consultations, expressing its "concern" regarding the "atrocities" committed by Israel in Gaza. Pretoria has long been a staunch advocate for the Palestinian cause, often linking it to the ruling African National Congress's struggle against apartheid.
