Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri and his Norwegian counterpart Andrias Kravik convened in Tehran on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, for the 11th round of political consultations between the two nations. The meeting, which was attended by special envoys of Norway for Yemen and the Middle East, covered a range of crucial topics including bilateral relations, regional dynamics, and global developments.
The discussions included a comprehensive review of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the situation in Afghanistan, developments in the Red Sea region, as well as strategies for enhancing human rights conditions and upholding international law.
Recent statements made by Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide, during a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting emphasized the importance of respecting and upholding international humanitarian law. Minister Eide firmly stressed, “International humanitarian law has to be respected. Violations are unacceptable. If we start accepting violations of clear rules of humanitarian law, the rules will lose their meaning. And then they will be harder to uphold in future conflicts. Humanitarian law has to be upheld equally, across similar situations.”
On Palestinian cause, he said, “Norway believes, that pursuing a path to Palestinian statehood should be connected to the idea of broader regional peace, and a regional settlement with the necessary and legitimate security guarantees for both Israel and Palestine.”
