TOKYO: Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major powers have issued a joint statement calling for an end to the cycle of violence in the Middle East, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Monday.

“We urge all involved parties once again to refrain from perpetuating the current destructive cycle of retaliatory violence, to lower tensions and engage constructively toward de-escalation,” the statement said.

The ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union expressed their concern over “the heightened level of tension in the Middle East which threatens to ignite a broader conflict in the region.”

“No country or nation stands to gain from a further escalation in the Middle East,” the statement said.

In telephone talks among the G7 foreign ministers held before the statement was issued, Japanese Foreign Minister KAMIKAWA Yoko said that the important thing is to avoid a cycle of attacks and calm the situation.

JIJI Press