Ramaphosa to chair virtual BRICS summit on Gaza
Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in a virtual summit of the BRICS group of nations on Tuesday to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, the Kremlin said on Monday.
"On November 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in an extraordinary BRICS summit (via videoconference) to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," the Kremlin said in a statement on Monday, referring to the influential bloc that includes Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to deliver the opening remarks, while member and invited states will also deliver country statements on the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
United Nations secretary-general António Guterres will also participate in the virtual meeting.
The leaders will be expected to adopt a joint statement on the situation in the Middle East with particular reference to Gaza.
Israel launched its offensive against Hamas after a wave of brutal cross-border raids on October 7 left 1,200 people dead, the majority of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
The Hamas-run government says the death toll from Israel's aerial bombardment and ground operations in the Palestinian territory has reached 13,000, thousands of them children.
ALSO READ
