After Going To Beijing, Foreign Minister Retno And OIC Delegation Will Visit Moscow To Raise Ceasefire Support In Gaza

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said he and the delegation of ministers from member countries of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), would continue to raise support for the ceasefire in Gaza, mainly from permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Together with the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine and the Secretary General of the OIC, Foreign Minister Retno said they would fly to Moscow, Russia to garner support for the realization of a ceasefire in Gaza, Palestine, after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing today.

"Tomorrow the OKI Foreign Ministers will continue to raise support for Moscow," Foreign Minister Retno said in a statement from Beijing, Monday, November 20.

He said the fundraising of support from P5, as the permanent member state of the UN DK, was aimed at a ceasefire to be realized immediately and the distribution of humanitarian aid was carried out without a hitch.

It is known that permanent members of the UN DK consist of the United States, China, Britain, France, and Russia.

According to Foreign Minister Retno, the visit of several OKI Foreign Ministers was a follow-up to Paragraph 11 of the Extraordinary OKI-Liga Arab Summit Resolution which was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last November 11.

"This month the RRT holds the UN DK Presidency. The OKI Foreign Ministers hope that the RRT can support the efforts being made by the OKI Foreign Ministers," said Foreign Minister Retno.

"According to the plan, a meeting will be held at the Foreign Minister's level at the UN DK to discuss the issue of Gaza again this month," he added.

As previously reported, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing was a "good friend and brother to Arab and Muslim countries," adding his party "always firmly supports the struggle of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and interests."

Since the latest crisis in Gaza broke out last month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly called for deescalation and for Israel-Palestinian to seek a two-state solution, instead of criticizing Hamas.

"China will seek to quell the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible, alleviate the humanitarian crisis and push for an early, comprehensive, fair and lasting Palestinian problem solving," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Separately, Israel's Ambassador to Beijing Irit Ben-Abba told foreign journalists on Monday he hoped there would be no "any statement from this visit regarding the ceasefire, now is not the right time."

He said Israel hoped the delegation would speak of the hostages detained by Hamas "and called for their immediate release without preconditions", adding the parties involved should speak together about "Egypt's role in facilitating humanitarian aid."