China, Brazil and other like-minded countries of the Global South on Friday launched a "Friend of Peace" platform to move toward ending the crisis in Ukraine.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, and Celso Amorim, special advisor to the President of Brazil, co-hosted a ministerial meeting of the platform, which was attended by representatives from 17 Global South countries, on the sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly in New York.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said countries such as Brazil, China, South Africa, Egypt, Indonesia and Türkiye, which are all committed to a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, agreed to form the "Friends of Peace" platform at the UN.
The platform does not seek to take sides in conflicts, engage in bloc confrontation, or replace existing platforms, he said.
It aims to gather more Global South countries, make an objective and rational voice, and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, Wang said.
The meeting issued a joint communique consisting of a nine-point consensus reached among Algeria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, Türkiye, and Zambia.
"Friends of Peace" platform on Ukraine crisis launched at UN
"Friends of Peace" platform on Ukraine crisis launched at UN
"Friends of Peace" platform on Ukraine crisis launched at UN
"Friends of Peace" platform on Ukraine crisis launched at UN
The U.S.-led international mission formed a decade ago to combat the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq will cease to exist by September 2025, said a joint statement issued Friday by the U.S. and Iraqi governments.
There will be, however, a "transitioning to bilateral security partnerships in a manner that supports Iraqi forces and maintains pressure on ISIS," said the statement, which on the U.S. part was carried by the State Department's website, using the abbreviation of an alternative name of the Islamic State known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
According to the statement, the Iraq-U.S. Higher Military Commission which consists of representatives from both sides will formulate necessary measures to ensure the safety of coalition advisors present in Iraq during the transitional period.
The coalition's military mission in neighboring Syria, where the Islamic State also operates, "will continue until September 2026," the statement said.
The statement provided few details as to what, if any, number of U.S. troops will leave Iraq as a result of the end of the mission.
"I just want to foot stomp the fact that this is not a withdrawal. This is a transition. It's a transition from a coalition military mission to an expanded U.S.-Iraqi bilateral security relationship," a senior U.S. official told reporters during a briefing Friday.
The United States has some 2,500 military personnel in Iraq and roughly 900 troops in Syria, tasked with the mission of fighting Islamic State militants while also serving as trainers and advisors to local security forces.
U.S.-led coalition mission in Iraq drawing to end by September 2025
