Tokyo, Nov 7: Fresh from a whirlwind tour of the Middle East, n shifted his intense diplomacy on the Israel-Hamas war to Asia on Tuesday with an appeal for the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies to forge consensus on how to deal with the crisis.
As he and his G7 counterparts began two days of talks in Japan, Blinken said it was critically important for the group to show unity as it has over Russia’s war in Ukraine and other major issues and prevent existing differences on Gaza from deepening.
“This is a very important moment as well for the G7 to come together in the face of this crisis and to speak, as we do, with one clear voice,” Blinken told Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, shortly after talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The devastating monthlong conflict in Gaza and efforts to ease the dire humanitarian impacts of Israel’s response to the deadly Oct 7 Hamas attack will be a major focus of the meeting.
Yet with the Russia-Ukraine war, fears North Korea may be readying a new nuclear test, and concerns about China’s increasing global assertiveness, it is far from the only crisis on the agenda.
In Tokyo, Blinken and foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy will be seeking common ground in part to prevent the Gaza war from further destabilising already shaky security in the broader Middle East and seeking to maintain existing consensus positions on other matters. Kamikawa said Japan “unequivocally condemns” the Hamas’ attack on Israel, supports US efforts to find a way forward and said that “solid unity between Japan and the US is especially critical at this point.”
Blinken described all of these as “a work in progress” and acknowledged deep divisions over the pause concept. (AP)
Israel-Hamas war: Blinken seeks G7 unity among items on global agenda
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