Tashkent, April 15 (QNA) - The 44th Extraordinary Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stressed the importance of reducing the escalation immediately in the Middle East region to maintain the security and stability of the region, and exercising the utmost levels of self-restraint, and sparing the region and its people the dangers of war.

In a statement after the meeting that was held on the sidelines of the joint ministerial meeting between the GCC and Central Asian countries, the council expressed its deep concern over the recent, very dangerous developments of military escalation in the Middle East region, and their negative impact on regional security and stability, demanding an immediate ceasefire and a cessation of Israeli military operations, ensuring the provision of access to all humanitarian and relief aid and basic needs, and the necessity of operating electricity and water lines and allowing the entry of fuel, food and medicine for the residents of Gaza.

It stressed the need for the international community to adopt effective policies and measures to reach an immediate ceasefire, as the continuation of this aggression has repercussions on the security and stability of the entire region and the continuation of tensions there, calling for an international conference in which all concerned parties participate to discuss all issues related to the Palestinian issue, and to reach a solution based on ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. (QNA)