Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said that the league is following with great concern the successive developments in Ukraine and the serious military and humanitarian consequences resulting from them.
This came in a message to the extraordinary meeting of the Council of the League at the level of permanent delegates at its headquarters on Monday, read by Hossam Zaki, the Assistant Secretary-General.
“We are aware of the positions of all parties, which are all friendly parties, and we believe that it was necessary to intensify the work to reach arrangements satisfactory to all without resorting to military force, because wars have their sad and regrettably high cost,” Aboul-Gheit said.
“It is imperative for all peace-loving countries and organisations to work quickly to stop the escalation, not to inflame it; to restore dialogue and seek a settlement of the crisis in order to avoid the deterioration of the situation and the widening of the conflict,” he stressed.
“Belonging to the Arab region makes us more aware of the destructive effects of wars and the use of military force and their painful consequences, especially the human cost.”
He called on the international community to engage seriously to end the current crisis in Ukraine politically and diplomatically, considering that this is the best way to address the situation, leading to the restoration of stability and security for all parties.
Aboul-Gheit also expressed his hope that “in these dangerous circumstances, each party would shoulder its responsibility and that all efforts would focus on sparing civilians from the consequences of the deteriorating security situation.”
Furthermore, he stressed the need for everyone to respect international humanitarian law and ensure humanitarian access to those in need, especially in light of the continued influx of Ukrainian refugees into neighbouring countries.
