Ladies and Gentlemen of the media,
Just hours into the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, I warned that the fighting risked triggering a chain reaction that no one could control.
More than three weeks on, the war is out of control.
The conflict has broken past the limits even leaders thought unimaginable.
The world is staring down the barrel of a wider war, a rising tide of human suffering, and a deeper global economic shock.
This has gone too far.
It is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder – and start climbing the diplomatic ladder, and return to full respect of international law.
I have remained in close contact with many from the region and around the world.
A number of initiatives for dialogue and peace are underway.
They must succeed.
I have just appointed Jean Arnault as my Personal Envoy to lead the UN efforts on the conflict and its consequences.
My message to the United States and Israel is that it is high time to end the war – as human suffering deepens, civilian casualties mount, and the global economic impact is increasingly devastating.
My message to Iran is to stop attacking their neighbours that are not parties to the conflict.
The Security Council has condemned these attacks and demanded that they end.
And it has reaffirmed that respect for navigational rights and freedoms around critical maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz must be respected.
The prolonged closure of the Strait is choking the movement of oil, gas, and fertilizer at a critical moment in the global planting season.
Across the region, and far beyond, civilians are enduring serious harm and living under profound insecurity.
I witnessed some of these consequences firsthand during my recent visit to Lebanon.
There, too, the war must stop.
Hezbollah must stop launching attacks into Israel.
And Israel must stop its military operations and strikes in Lebanon, which are hitting civilians the hardest.
The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon.
Around the globe, markets are in turmoil.
Humanitarian operations are constrained.
And on every front, the shock waves are falling hardest on those who bear no responsibility for this conflict: the poorest, the most vulnerable, the least able to absorb yet another blow.
The UN system is deeply engaged in trying to minimize the consequences of the war.
And the best way to minimize those consequences is clear: end the war – immediately.
War is not the answer.
We need a way out of this disaster.
Diplomacy is the way out.
Full respect of international law is the way out.
Peace is the way out.
And I thank you.
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Question: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary-General. Edith Lederer from the Associated Press. We hear that the United Nations is naming an envoy to try to promote diplomacy. Can you tell us what this envoy is going to be doing and what you are doing already to try to promote negotiations between Israel, the United States on one side, and Iran?
Secretary-General: He will be doing more directly on the ground, as I tried to do from New York. He will be doing everything possible to support all the efforts for mediation, all the efforts for peace, to be in contact with all the parties, and at this time to look into the aspects in which this conflict is having a dramatic impact in the region, with the suffering of civilians in the region and around the world, with an impact on the global economy that is causing tremendous trouble for the less developed countries.
Question: Just the end of my question – what role have you been trying to play?
Secretary-General: I am in close contact with all those that I believe can help to try to put an end to this horrible conflict.
Question: Mr. Secretary-General, Gabriel Elizondo, Al Jazeera English. Good morning. As you might know, Iran has already rejected the proposal that the US has put on the table. And already, as you’re calling for de-escalation, President Trump is sending thousands more troops to the region. It seems like it’s more escalation. How much longer can this go on, and what specifically is your message now, given how close we are now, potentially, to more escalation?
Secretary-General: My message is that diplomacy must prevail. And diplomacy requires sincere dialogue. We have mediators that have offered their services. They are very engaged. And I’m hopeful that, independent of the present positions that were expressed by the parties to the conflict, there will be a way in which they can come to an understanding to end this horrible conflict, because the consequences of the conflict that is totally out of control at the present moment are absolutely devastating.
Question: Secretary-General, Sherwin Bryce-Pease, South African Broadcasting. You talk about the global economic impact as increasingly devastating. I want you to focus a little bit on the development agenda of the United Nations. We are not here talking about the Sustainable Development Goals. We’re not talking about ending gender inequality, food insecurity, ending poverty, and so forth. We’re talking about ending another war on top of all the other wars that are there. What are the humanitarian consequences, particularly for the developing world?
Secretary-General: This war has a very big impact on everything that you mentioned: Sustainable Development Goals, poverty. I mean, just to give an example, the Gulf countries are strong suppliers of raw materials for nitrogen fertilizers. And this is absolutely crucial. We are getting close to the planting season in different parts of the world. Without fertilizers today, we might have hunger tomorrow. So just this example, not to mention of course the horrible impacts that are caused by the oil and gas restrictions which are causing a huge spike in prices that can trigger inflation across the board and put developing countries, mostly those that are indebted, mostly those that have no resources to be able to cope with this dramatic increase in energy prices – all these countries will be in an extremely difficult situation, and their populations will, of course, suffer, with more hunger, with more poverty, with more difficulties to implement the vital aspects that are the support of human life.
Thank you.