WASHINGTON (Reuters) – There needs to be an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza but governments worldwide do not seem to see it as a priority, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Friday in Washington, adding that there must also be a credible roadmap to establish a Palestinian state.
“Our message is consistent and clear that we believe that it is absolutely necessary to end the fighting immediately,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a press conference before a meeting of Arab foreign ministers and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“One of the disturbing facts of this conflict is that ending the conflict and the fighting doesn’t seem to be the main priority,” for the world, he said.
“We also need to see a significant ramping up of humanitarian aid,” he said, adding that it is “unacceptable” that aid “is being restricted and has been restricted” because of “bureaucratic obstacles.”
Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood told a meeting of the United Nations Security Council earlier on Friday that while the United States strongly supports a durable peace in Gaza, “we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire.”
“This would only plant the seeds for the next war because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace,” he said.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay; writing by Susan Heavey and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Grant McCool)
