• Pushes for SL to be BRICS member 

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the statement by the Group of Seven (G7) countries, justifying Israel’s attack on Iran as self-defence, is not acceptable because the attack took place while talks between the United States (US) and Iran were still ongoing.

He added that the G7 communiqué, justifying Israel’s attack on Iran as self-defence, should be rejected, stating that the attack took place while talks between the US and Iran were going on. “The other issue that has come up and which is of concern to us is the Israeli presence in Iran. The G7 communiqué, justifying it as self-defence, is not acceptable because the attack took place while the talks were going on. If it took place, to give the most favourable interpretation to Israel, then it had to be after the talks were over and if it broke down. But, talks went on. The 60-day period was over but the US decided to give it an extension by going for another round. So, this concept of self-defence is harmful. Secondly, what we are afraid of is that the Israel attack has not, as they intended, destroyed everything in the first attack. So, you can witness maybe a more drawn-out conflict which has to be brought to an end. So, this is the terrain that we have as of today and it’s within this that we have to decide how we go forward,” Wickremesinghe said in his concluding remarks. 

Wickremesinghe, attending the Valdai Discussion Club roundtable in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on Tuesday (17), described the current global context as the dismantling of global order and the emergence of a multipolar world. He stated that alongside the power blocs in Asia, Africa, Eurasia and Latin America, alternative power structures are emerging in the form of non-state actors, military actors and even multilateral organisations such as the International Monetary Fund. These influential forces are responsible for shaping the global order. “They are not states, but nevertheless, we have to take them in,” he stressed. 

Delivering his remarks at the conference, he stated that the Indo-Pacific was a result of the absence of a clear boundary of the Pacific. It was created with the purpose of dealing with the Taiwan crisis, an issue that the Indian Ocean has no wish to get involved in, as it is accepted that Taiwan is a part of China.

Wickremesinghe also called for the G7 to be scrapped and for the G20, to take its place instead. “We have to recognise the shift of power and that it’s a multipolar world. So, we should ask for G7 to be scrapped and G20 to take its place. You don’t need G7 and G20. G20 has all the key players into it.” “It’s useless talking about G7 when most of the countries don’t even count very much as far as we are concerned,” he said. 

He also called for the recognition of the role that is being played by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) plus. He is of the firm belief that Sri Lanka should be part of BRICS, and that therefore, during his Presidency, an application for its membership was made after it was recognised that this grouping would soon be the largest economic grouping. Commenting further, he stated that for countries such as Sri Lanka, which are not part of the Western developed world, BRICS provides a grouping that has been absent since the collapse of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Despite a prolonged fallout with Europe, the US and Western nations due to the Ukraine conflict, Wickremesinghe asserted that Russia is not isolated on the international stage and is continuing to work with nations in the Asian region.