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GCC Summit cuts short, delegates leave without any major breakthrough

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GCC Summit cuts short, delegates leave without any major breakthrough

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Saudi Arabia-UAE forms separate military-trade partnership

In a fast moving development in Middle East, the much awaited GCC summit was cut short by a day due to ongoing diplomatic rift on Tuesday while rulers of three boycotting countries Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and UAE skipped the event. Moreover Saudi Arabia and UAE have formed a new military and trade partnership separate from GCC.

Aljazeera reports that all the delegates will be leaving Kuwait after a closed door session on Tuesday. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani was the only head of state touching down at Kuwait airport on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, Oman’s Deputy PM for cabinet affairs Fahad bin Mahmoud Al-Saeed and Bahrain’s Deputy Pm Sheikh Mohammad bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa reached Kuwait for participating in the summit on Tuesday. This marked the lowest attendance at any GCC summit since its inception in 1981.

The preparatory ministerial level meeting could not set the agenda and priorities on Monday for the summit meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

The announcement of UAE and Saudi Arabia forming a new military and trade partnership separate from GCC came early on Tuesday ahead of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit. The statement issued by UAE foreign ministry said that country’s ruler and president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has approved the proposal.

The UAE foreign ministry statement says that the new committee “is assigned to cooperate and coordinate between the UAE and Saudi Arabia in all military, political, economic, trade and cultural fields, as well as others, in the interest of the two countries”.

GCC Summit cuts short, delegates leave without any major breakthrough

However, Saudi authorities have not yet announced about the new joint move with UAE.

The Kuwait’s official news agency KUNA carried a curtain raiser on Tuesday morning saying that “GCC will kick off its summit amid aspirations to maintain further stability, security and integration amongst its member nations.”

It further elaborated that “participants are set to discuss several matters at the two day session, including regional and international developments, particularly political and security challenges.”

The GCC, which was established in the early years of Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-88), has been passing through unprecedented crisis after June 5, when Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed their ties with Qatar.

Jaman Elshayyal, Aljazeera correspondent reports from Kuwait that the new partnership “would be seen a very antagonising towards the GCC as an organisation, an organisation that has been under threat very much because of the actions of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in terms of imposing a blockade which has gone on for six months now”.

Volatile relationship among Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman were felt once again on Monday evening while Yemen’s Ansarullah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi warned foreign investors to leave Saudi Arabia and UAE and advised them to invest in Kuwait, Oman and Yemen’s capital Sana’a for conducting secure business.

Houthis were facing aerial campaign from Saudi-led coalition for over two years and are considered to be pro-Iran and Hezbollah. Houthi leader’s recommendation in favor of Kuwait and Oman carry lot of meaning in the regional diplomacy.

In October, Kuwait’s emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who was engaged in mediating in the Qatar crisis, warned of the potential collapse of the GCC.

Around the same time, Bahrain’s King al Khalifa had indicated that his country would not take part in any summit or meeting attended by Qatar unless it “corrects its approach”.

Despite that Qatar’s emir had agreed to resolve the crisis through dialogue but blockading Saudi-led quartet did not accept the proposal.

Killing of Saudi ally and former president of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh at the hands of Houthis has also created new complex situation in the region. Saudi sponsored resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri could not get the desired result as well.

Washington Post, while reporting the developments surrounding the summit says, that only organizing summit won’t be enough “to salvage the GCC, a group of American allied Gulf Arab nations formed in part in 1981 as a counterbalance to Shiite power Iran.”

It also indicated that US and its European allies have told GCC members that region remains stronger with them working together as a whole, while “the countries themselves still appear divided” over their future.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

The Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

In a significant development, India and China have completed the disengagement exercise in the Depsang and Demchok friction points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The troops of both the countries are now verifying the vacation of positions and removal of infrastructure.

Reportedly, the Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks. The two sides will exchange sweets for Diwali tomorrow.

Earlier, Foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to disengage in the remaining friction points at LAC in eastern Ladakh. After the agreement, the two countries began troops disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang plains on October 23.

India-China relations worsened because of the Chinese troops’ aggression along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in April 2020. It further deteriorated on June 15, 2020, after 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty thwarting the Chinese offensive in the Galwan Valley. New Delhi had said India’s bilateral relations with China will normalise only after the situation at the LAC returns to what it was before May 2020.

Reports said that the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints, and have also dismantled temporary structures that had been built during the four-year-long standoff.

The Indian soldiers will resume their patrolling in areas that had been cut off because of the PLA’s presence. Nonetheless, the disengagement in Depsang and Demchok will not lead to the creation of buffer zones.

Both the countries had disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15) areas and created buffer zones. Speaking to a newspaper publication, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations said that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength of the patrolling parties.

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Iran says 2 soldiers killed in Israeli air strikes

Emphasising Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted its obligation to counter foreign aggression.

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The Iranian Army said on Saturday that two of its soldiers were killed in Israeli air strikes that targeted military bases.

Iran stated that its air defenses effectively countered the attack, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of two soldiers and some areas suffering limited damage.

The Israeli military conducted strikes on Iranian military sites after 2 am on Saturday, responding to what they cited as ongoing attacks by Iran and its allies in the region.

Following the strikes, the Israeli military announced they had successfully completed the mission and achieved their objectives.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the precise targeting of military sites in Iran to neutralize immediate threats to Israel.

“I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran’s attacks against Israel. We conducted targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran — thwarting immediate threats to the State of Israel,” the Israel Defence Force posted on X.

Iran’s air defense headquarters acknowledged the hits on bases in Ilam, Khuzestan, and Tehran but asserted that these attacks were effectively repelled, with investigations ongoing to assess damages. Moreover, Iran indicated its readiness to retaliate against any Israeli aggression, stating that Israel would face proportional consequences for its actions.

Iran expressed its intentions to respond to the Israeli attacks on its military bases, condemning the actions as a violation of international law and the UN Charter’s principles on the use of force.

Emphasising Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted its obligation to counter foreign aggression.

Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, attributing the escalation to Israel and urging the UN Security Council to intervene for peace and security.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasised that Iran should refrain from retaliating against Israel, advocating for restraint on all sides to prevent further escalation.

“I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression. I’m equally clear that we must avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to restrain. Iran should not respond,” the PM said at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The United States advised Iran to halt its attacks on Israel to cease the ongoing violence and break the cycle of conflict, underlining the importance of de-escalation.

“We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett told reporters.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the Israeli operation throughout its development and execution by his National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan.

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BRICS Summit: PM Modi, China’s Xi Jinping discuss Ukraine war with Russia’s Putin

“The world has entered a new period of turbulent change. We need to build a peaceful BRICS, and be the guardian of common security,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Summit.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, China’s Xi Jinping, and other BRICS leaders on Wednesday discussed the war in Ukraine with President Vladimir Putin as the Kremlin chief chaired a major summit aimed at showing Western attempts to isolate Russia have failed.

India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, PM Modi said at the BRICS Summit, in an unambiguous message calling for resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peaceful negotiations.

Putin, whose administration has dismissed allegations of war crimes against him as politically motivated, kicked off the Summit on Wednesday by noting the strong interest from over 30 States in joining the BRICS group.

He emphasised the importance of maintaining a balance in any expansion, acknowledging the unprecedented interest from countries in the Global South and East while ensuring that it does not diminish the effectiveness of BRICS.

“The world has entered a new period of turbulent change. We need to build a peaceful BRICS, and be the guardian of common security,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Summit.

On the Ukraine crisis, Jinping said, “We need to push for the situation to de-escalate as soon as possible.” He also expressed his concern over the crisis in Gaza, saying, “We need to push for a ceasefire.”

PM Modi emphasised the need for a people-centric approach to solving global challenges and called for reformed multilateralism. The PM underlined the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for global peace and stability.

Addressing the summit in Kazan, a Russian city along the Volga, Europe’s longest river, Putin also reiterated the group’s focus on discussing acute regional conflicts, alluding to the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Russia, heavily reliant on oil exports, sees China and India as major buyers, with the two countries responsible for about 90% of Moscow’s oil sales, making it Russia’s largest foreign currency source.

In a public exchange, Prime Minister Modi expressed his desire for peace in Ukraine to Putin, while Chinese President Xi discussed the Ukrainian conflict privately with the Russian leader.

As Russia continues its advancement, it currently controls a significant portion of Ukraine, including Crimea, unilaterally annexed in 2014, as well as a substantial portion of the Donbas region, comprising Donetsk and Luhansk, along with parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Putin has reiterated that Moscow will not negotiate the status of these regions, claiming them as part of Russia and emphasising the need to consider Russia’s long-term security interests in Europe.

The anticipated BRICS communique is expected to include proposals from China and Brazil aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine, with the two countries seeking support for a ceasefire from other developing nations. Ukraine has accused Beijing and Brasília of aligning with Moscow’s interests.

Putin has acknowledged the potential of the Chinese-Brazilian proposals as a basis for ending the conflict, following Russia’s deployment of troops into Ukraine in 2022 after years of fighting in the eastern part of the country.

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