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Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who is in New York attending the UN Security Council meeting on the Gaza conflict, commented on the situation in Gaza and the aims of UN Security Council meeting in seeking a solution to the conflict during an interview with the BBC.
Read the transcript

Matthew Price (Interviewer): It seems that a lot of emphasis is being put on what might be used for the Egyptian proposal. How important are the Egyptians to this process and what is being suggested?

David Miliband: It is the middle of the night in Britain at the moment. We have just concluded the first of two days of quite intensive diplomacy here. The critical thing is that the debate here is about a ceasefire, about the blocking of the flow of arms into the Gaza Strip, about the opening of the crossings to address this humanitarian crisis and complements the changes that are going to take place, we hope, on the ground thanks to the initiative of the Egyptian Government. Our critical focus tomorrow, Wednesday, will be on making sure that the action here supports the first glimmerings of a change in the situation on the ground and everything that we have seen has demonstrated the gravity of the situation facing ordinary Gazans, the appalling situation that they face and the desperate medical, food and other humanitarian needs that they have got.

MP We have seen the efforts intensifying here and elsewhere in terms of diplomacy, but do you think that there is actually, do you think a potential ceasefire is closer than it was perhaps several days ago or are we still just dealing with words at the moment, rather than actual changes in the reality?

DM: I think it is too early to say that we have turned a corner, but I am beginning to see the first signs of the common ground on which a ceasefire can be built and the critical thing is that we don’t have some steps back tomorrow – we have got to try and build on this because the urgency is immense. The passion around the Security Council table was obviously very very clear – it’s a passion for an immediate ceasefire, but a ceasefire that lasts and that’s what we have really got to work for – building on the diplomacy here, but trying to find a way for the moderate states, the Egyptians, the Israelis, the other states who are willing to talk to each other to find a way to get a ceasefire that sticks.

MP: It sounds like you are still thinking a ceasefire could be some days off?

DM: I think that the last days of death and destruction mean that it would be foolish to make false promises. What I can honestly tell you is that we have now got action on the ground and action in New York that hold out the possibility that we might be able to effect some serious change.

source-fco

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