Kuwaiti Diplomat Haya Al-Duraie speaks at a special session held on the situation in Middle East as a part of the UN General Assembly’s 71st session in New York. —KUNA

NEW YORK: Kuwait has reiterated its supportive stance to all international efforts to find peaceful solutions to the diverse Middle East crises and civil conflicts. Kuwait supports all international efforts that were laying the foundation for security and stability in the region, Kuwaiti Diplomat Haya Al-Duraie said in a special session held on the situation in Middle East as a part of the UN General Assembly's 71st session.

Al-Duraie, however, lamented that the faltering peace process continued to present a danger to the Middle East. Despite international calls on Israel to end its expansionist policies and violations of human rights, those actions continued, she said. She stressed Kuwait's commitment to back Palestinian aspirations to establish a state based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and also all measures that had been carried out by Lebanon to preserve its sovereignty.

On Syria, Al-Duraie noted that the humanitarian situation in Syria continued to be extremely concerning and Syrians now constituted the largest refugee population in the world. She argued that the world could no longer ignore the situation in Aleppo, where indiscriminate bombardments must end and violators of international law must be brought to justice.

The Syrian people had a right to peace and freedom, she said, noting that Kuwait had hosted several international donor conferences and had pledged $1.3 billion, which had been largely dispersed to United Nations agencies. On Yemen, she said efforts to reach a solution must be based on the outcome of a national dialogue, the Gulf Initiative and relevant Security Council resolutions. She rejected any unilateral measures in Yemen to create a "Government of salvation". Turning to other situations in the region, Al-Duraie commended Iraq's achievements to combat the so-called Islamic State group and expressed hope that a political agreement in Libya would help to stabilize that country.

End to occupation

Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmad Abul-Gheit said that the Palestine question remains to be the central cause of the conflicts in the Middle East. To stabilize the region the international community needs to focus on ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and preventing foreign interferences in the domestic affairs of the Arab countries, he stressed.

Abul-Gheit made the comments in a speech to the 2016 Rome Med - Mediterranean Dialogues being held here. He lauded as a constructive the suggestion to build a new regional system in the Mediterranean region, noting that the southern side of the Mediterranean as never been fragmented as it today. Not only Iran, Turkey and Israel, but some western powers as well play negative roles in the Arab countries and interfere in their domestic affairs, he regretted.

The League chief blamed the growth of violent tendencies among the Arab youth on the continued occupation of Arab territories by Israel. The 2016 Rome Med - Mediterranean Dialogues is an annual high-level initiative organized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and ISPI (Italian Institute for International Political Studies). It aims to draft a "positive agenda" for the Mediterranean region by stimulating debate and new ideas, rethinking traditional approaches and addressing shared challenges at both the regional and the international level. - Agencies