Putin, Xi and UN Secretary-General Guterres to attend virtual meeting on Israel-Hamas war WFTV [Video]

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders from the BRICS bloc of developing countries will hold a virtual meeting on the Israel-Hamas war on Tuesday, with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also participating.

The leaders of fellow BRICS members Brazil, India and South Africa, as well as of Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, which are set to join the bloc in January, will also take part, according to the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa will chair the “extraordinary meeting” because of South Africa’s position as current chair of BRICS, his office said. It said the leaders are expected to deliver statements on the “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza and will likely adopt a joint statement.

The meeting comes a day after China’s top diplomat hosted the foreign ministersof Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Indonesia in Beijing, their first stop on …