OIC members press for unconditional ceasefire in Middle East

State leaders and senior ministers from 18 countries of the 57- strong OIC jointly issued the Putrajaya Declaration at the end of an emergency meeting here, which was called by Malaysia at short notice to discuss the current situation in the Middle East.

Representatives gathered in Malaysia's administrative center of Putrajaya to demonstrate their "serious concern over the grave crisis in the Middle East arising from the continuing Israeli aggression against Lebanon" and voiced their full support for Lebanon's resistance against the Israeli aggression, said the declaration.

To realize an "immediate and unconditional, comprehensive ceasefire" in Lebanon, countries attending the meeting urged the United Nations (UN) Security Council to take the necessary actions and fulfill its responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and security without any further delay.

Noting their concern over the "inability" of the UN Security Council to help accomplish a ceasefire so far, the declaration said, if the UN Security Council fails to act immediately, those countries will call upon all OIC members to press for the convening of a meeting of the UN General Assembly under Uniting for Peace, in cooperation with other UN member states.

Meanwhile, the statement calls for the "immediate and unconditional release of all Lebanese detainees held by Israel".

At the closing of the one-day conference, formally known as the Meeting of Friends of the Chair of the 10th Islamic Summit Conference, participants also released a declaration on the situation in Palestine, condemning "the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands" and reaffirming their "commitment and support for all initiatives leading to a peacefully negotiated settlement" to the conflict.

Among state leaders gathering here are Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bangladesh Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, Pakistan Prime Minster Shaukat Aziz, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan Prime Minister Artur Rasizadeh.

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