LONDON
Britain’s foreign secretary said Wednesday that they do not want the conflict in Gaza to go on for long, expressing the need for an immediate humanitarian pause.
"We want this conflict to end as soon as possible. We don't want it to go on for a long moment, longer than necessary," David Cameron said in a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
He said the important question is whether there is some way of turning that pause into a sustainable cease-fire.
But for this, said Cameron, one would have to see the leadership of the Palestinian group Hamas leaving Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 24,000 people since an Oct. 7 offensive by Hamas. Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the initial Hamas attack.
"I think that should be the approach we try to take. Let's get this pause in place, get the aid and get the hostages out, get that hostage negotiation done and see if we can turn that into a sustainable cease-fire," he said.
Elaborating on why he stressed the term “sustainable,” Cameron noted that just stopping the fighting will "never get a two-state solution," as such a solution cannot be reached with Hamas in Gaza able to launch rockets against Israel.
The UK has faced criticism from pro-Palestinian voices and organizations for failing to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.
The US has proposed a revitalized Palestinian Authority to take charge in Gaza once the conflict is over, unifying its administration with the West Bank.
- 'Ukraine is doing well'
Regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, Cameron admitted that "things have become quite stuck on land" but added that Ukraine has done and is doing well.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin faced "another catastrophe" in the Black Sea, where Ukraine sank more than 20% of his navy, leaving him with a very small fleet.
He claimed that the war has been "a catastrophic disaster" for Putin, adding that Russia has lost half of the land it captured with 300,000 casualties.
"Our job is to support Ukraine through this winter...to set up a system so that Ukraine can prevail," he said, adding he believes Russia is "failing" in terms of its attacks.
In response to a question about frozen Russian assets, Cameron said there is a legal, moral and political argument on the subject.
"I think the moral argument is quite straightforward," he said, referring to the notion that "Russia is going to have to pay reparations for its illegal invasion, so why not spend some of the money now, rather than wait till the war is over."
The "world changed" when Russia launched its war on Ukraine, he said. "And we have to change with it and recognize we are in a more dangerous, uncertain and difficult world."
He expressed confidence that the G-7 countries would make some progress in using assets to help Ukraine.
- Support for Ukraine not ‘fractured'
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he does not believe it is fair to say that Western support for Ukraine is "fractured."
"Actually, the most recent visit of (UK) Prime Minister (Rishi) Sunak to Ukraine and the agreements reached during the course of this visit demonstrate how committed and unwavering the support is," he said.
Kuleba acknowledged that there are discussions in the US Congress but said this is not solely about Ukraine's support.
"Pessimists do not win wars. You have to be optimists. You have to find solutions," he said.
Touching on some comments about the peace plan, he said that restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity is the "most important" part.
"When we hear arguments from some experts or thinkers that Ukraine might consider freezing the conflict, our response is simple: we need frozen Russian assets, not a frozen conflict," he said.
"This is the way forward to send a clear message to everyone in the world, that if you dare to break the rules, you're going to pay. If we don't send that message...the number of interstate conflicts and tensions across the globe will be growing."
He added that there is a lot of diplomatic work for a planned peace summit in Switzerland.
