A Russian diplomat, coming out of the meeting, said, We hope for de-escalation.Just hours before the closed consultations, Guterres voiced concern over tensions between India and Pakistan being at their highest in years, saying it pains me to see relations reaching a boiling point.Guterres made remarks to the press from the UNSC stake-out Monday morning amid rising tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 civilians, including a Nepali citizen.Guterres said he understands the raw feelings following the awful terror attack in Pahalgam and reiterated his strong condemnation of that attack.Targeting civilians is unacceptable and those responsible must be brought to justice through credible and lawful means, he said.Guterres stressed that it is essential — especially at this critical hour — to avoid a military confrontation that could easily spin out of control.Now is the time for maximum restraint and stepping back from the brink.That has been my message in my ongoing outreach with both countries.Make no mistake: A military solution is no solution, the UN Chief said.Before the UNSC meeting, India’s former Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin had told PTI that no consequential outcome” can be expected from a discussion where a party to the conflict seeks to shape perceptions by using its membership of the Council.India will parry such Pakistani efforts.
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