Road to peace is dialogue – Pres Ali urges peace talks in Middle East

President Dr Irfaan Ali has urged the global community to prioritise dialogue as tension escalates in the Middle East, emphasising the need for peace, restraint and protection of civilians, particularly women and children. Speaking at the Phagwah celebration held at the State House on Monday, the Head of State highlighted the human cost of ongoing conflicts, noting that every second, war and destruction are affecting countless innocent lives. He stressed that while many may seek peace, which in their open comes along the road of war, for us in Guyana we say the road to peace is dialogue. “On this occasion I ask you to remember the rest of the world, especially in the Middle East and other places where war, conflict and destruction is occurring every second. Especially for women and children. We’ve already seen in this war, in a disproportionate manner, more women and children are affected than anyone else. And the funny thing is that, everybody wants peace, but in their opinion, the road to peace is war. For us in Guyana, we say the road to peace is dialogue. The road to peace is promoting and ensuring that we don’t remove ourselves from the table of conversation,” the President said.

The President called upon all parties involved, including the counties in the Gulf, Israel, Iran and the United Sates (US) to keep communication channels open and to allow the table of conversation to supersede the table of strength, to ensure long lasting peace among the nations, with dignity, freedom and respect for the rule of law. He framed his message citing Guyana’s diverse and peaceful context, emphasising that dialogue must remain the central focus to ensure conflict resolution. He expressed, “we call upon all the stakeholders, all the countries in the Gulf, Israel, Iran, the US and everyone to allow the table of conversation to supersede the table of strength and let the table of conversation deliver lasting peace with respect with the rule of law, with freedom, with dignity and with honour and we do so today in a Guyana that is diverse.” Earlier in the week the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry released a statement condemning the unprovoked attacks by Iran on the Kingdom of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Iraq, the State of Qatar and the State of Kuwait, describing the actions as unjustified and a breach of international law. The Ministry also called on all parties to deescalate and restraint tensions in the interest of regional peace and stability. It also expressed full solidarity with the Governments and people of the affected nations, condemning all acts of aggression and hostility against these countries.

The call for peace and dialogue come amid intensifying conflict in the Middle East. On Sunday evening the BBC reported that US and Israel have bombed targets across Iran for a fourth day, as President Donald Trump declared that the country’s air defences, air force, navy and leadership were “gone”. According to the BBC report, the Israeli military said it had struck Iran’s Presidential Office, a covert nuclear compound, and a Revolutionary Guards commander in Tehran, while the US military said it had destroyed command facilities, missile launch sites and airfields. Iranian authorities did not comment, the BBC report stated, but added that explosions were reported across Iran, where the Red Crescent has said 780 people have been killed since Saturday. Iran has responded to the strikes by launching deadly missile and drone attacks on Israel and Gulf states hosting US bases. According to the BBC, A drone hit a car park adjacent to the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday evening and “set off a fire in that place”, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. It came hours after two drones hit the US embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh and caused a “limited fire”, according to the Saudi defence Ministry.