MALAYSIA NOT INVITED TO MEETING IN EGYPT BECAUSE IT SUPPORTS PLAN CONDITIONALLY – FM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysia was not invited to participate in the Gaza peace plan summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, because of its stance of conditional support towards the plan, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

He explained that Malaysia was viewed as a country offering conditional support, having expressed its backing through an explanation of vote in the New York Declaration last July, instead of supporting it indiscriminately. 

“We support (the peace agreement), but with clarification on our stance, and not supporting it blindly.

“By explanation of vote – that is our position on the Palestinian struggle,” he told reporters during a press conference at the Concorde Club here today.

Elaborating on Malaysia’s conditional support, Mohamad said the country’s stance on the Palestinian cause is centred on ensuring the establishment of an independent state, the right of return for Palestinians to their homeland, the demarcation of national borders according to pre-1967 lines, and the designation of East Jerusalem as the capital.

The press conference was chaired by Bernama Chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai. Also in attendance was Bernama Editor-in-Chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj.

The Concorde Club is an informal group that brings together senior editors from both local and international media agencies.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday that Malaysia supports the United States’ peace plan, as every effort towards reconciliation is important to end the killings and destruction in Gaza.

According to Anadolu Ajansi, more than 20 world leaders attended the Gaza Peace Plan Summit, which was co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US President Donald Trump, aimed at ending the war in the Gaza Strip.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement came into effect last Friday under Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s two-year war in the region.

-- BERNAMA