António Guterres (UN Secretary-General) on the situation in the Middle East - Security Council Media Stakeout

Yes, good, uh, good afternoon.

Hi, good afternoon. Uh, the Secretary General will, uh, make a statement and we'll take a few questions.

Sir, please. Ladies and gentlemen of the media, thank you very much for your presence. Justice is meant to be blind. But today, too many are choosing to turn a blind eye to justice itself. Around the world and starkly in the Middle East, respect for international law is being trampled. Rules governing the use of force and the conduct of hostilities are ignored. Civilians are exposed to intolerable harm. Humanitarian obligations are disregarded and even the protections afforded to the United Nations and our personnel are violated. This wholesale assault on international law has consequences. Lawlessness breeds chaos. Lawlessness fuels suffering. Lawlessness leads to destruction. And this is not the moment to retreat from international law, it's the moment to reaffirm it. That is why later this week I will travel to The Hague to mark the 80th anniversary of the International Court of Justice. The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and the pillar of the international legal order. For 8 decades, the Court has fulfilled that role with distinction. But this visit is not simply about commemorating an anniversary. It's about sending an unmistakable message, a message that the United Nations stands firmly behind the institutions and principles designed to protect peace, justice, sovereignty, and human dignity. A message that international law applies to all states without exception. And that respect for its rules is not optional. The message that in a world moving toward greater fragmentation and sharper power competition, international law is indispensable. Without it, instability spreads, mistrust deepens, and conflicts spiral out of control. This applies everywhere and it applies urgently to the conflict in the Middle East. There is no military solution to this crisis. Peace agreements require persistent engagement and political will. Serious negotiations must resume. And the ceasefire must be preserved and extended as necessary. International navigational rights and freedoms, including in the Strait of Hormuz, must be respected by all parties. It's time for restraint and responsibility. It's time for diplomacy over escalation, and it's time for a renewed commitment to international law. Thank you.

Uh, thank you very much, Mr. Secretary General Edith Lederer from the Associated Press. Um, what do you know about resuming talks between the United States and Iran? President Trump has just said it could happen. Uh, possibly in the next two days and also has the United Nations been able to get any humanitarian aid into Iran?

In relation to the first question, uh, I have to say that I consider it essential that these negotiations go on. I think it would be unrealistic to expect such a complex problem, long lasting problem, could be resolved in the first session of a negotiation, so we need negotiations to go on and we need a ceasefire to persist as negotiations go on. Um, on the other hand, uh, uh, the SEF has attributed $12 million to our country team in order to be able to provide effective humanitarian assistance to people in dire need of that assistance.

You, you didn't actually um address my question which was, does the United Nations, do you know about the prospect, the possibility of a resumption of

talks? The indication we have is that it is highly probable that these talks will restart. I had, uh, today a meeting with the uh the deputy prime minister of Pakistan. And I want to take profit of this occasion to express my enormous admiration to Pakistan for the very important initiative that Pakistan has been assuming in order to bring peace to the Middle East.

Thank you Mr. Secretary General Bissan Abu Quik with Al Jazeera Arabic, uh, with direct talks taking place today in Washington between Lebanon and Israel, uh, what are your expectations from these talks? How do you view, uh, them playing, uh, if they proceed, you know, a role in the bigger picture when it comes to the Iran war and, uh, what would be a UN role if these talks proceed going forward?

Well, I believe that nobody expects that these talks today will solve all the problems, but I think it will be very important if these talks create the conditions to a change in the way the actors have been developing their activities. Until now, the truth is that Hezbollah and Israel have always helped each other to destabilize the government of Lebanon. Whenever Israel occupies part of the territory of Lebanon, that is the pretext Hezbollah uses to say we cannot disarm, we must keep the resistance. Whenever Hezbollah sends rockets against Israel, even after having promised that they wouldn't do it, Israel immediately uses that pretext for this massive operation against Lebanon. At the same time you have the government of Lebanon that is totally committed on one hand to the territorial integrity of Lebanon, but on the other hand to have the monopoly of the use of force which implies the disarmament of Hezbollah. So it's time for Israel and Lebanon to be working together instead of Lebanon being the victim of this kind of negative. Uh I would say negative conjugation of the actions of Hezbollah and Israel. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much.