Devirupa Mitra By

NEW DELHI: For the first time, the bloc of emerging economies is considering a proposal to actively mediate between Israel and Palestine. China and Russia have been trying to convince India to get onboard, so that BRICS gets directly involved in persuading Israel and Palestine to resume peace process.

It is learnt that China’s special envoy to the Middle East Gong Xiaosheng held discussions with senior MEA officials. Sources said the proposal was for BRICS to take on a role similar to that of the so-called Quartet – EU, UN, Russia and the US — by setting up a group of secretary-level officers as a first step. “It’s mainly a Chinese and Russian initiative. The Chinese are keen. They have been going around the capitals to create consensus,” a senior government official told Express.

The proposal comes as Russia, China and India are increasingly turning their attention to West Asia. Simultaneously, the volatile region is also looking to other powers to act as ‘honest brokers’ in the face of perceived decline in US influence. High-level sources said an understanding on the proposal could be reached as early as March. “If agreed, this will be the first political initiative taken by BRICS,” the official said. So far, BRICS’ major achievements have been in the economic sector. If the proposal is accepted by all BRICS members, it would mark a tectonic shift in geo-political terms in the region, where the US and Europe have been the traditional external actors.

With only a couple of weeks into 2016, India has already stepped up its engagement with its extended western neighbourhood. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s first foreign tour in 2016 was to Israel, Palestine and Jordan. Her second one was to Bahrain to attend the first India-Arab ministerial conference on Jan 23-24. Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia after the end of the budget session, with Iran, Israel and Palestine also on the itinerary.

During her trip last week, Swaraj was asked by Palestinian leadership to convey their message to Israel that they are ready for talks for a two-state nation on 1967 borders. The Israelis responded positively but with a rider that terror attacks must stop.