Chinese President Xi Jinping called on BRICS countries to play a peacemaking role in the Middle East on Saturday, casting China and the bloc as potential diplomatic counterweights to the United States and its allies amid the ongoing conflict.

Speaking at the BRICS summit in New Delhi, India, Xi said China would work with other members to promote peace, arguing that the war “does not serve the common interests of the international community,” according to China’s state-run CCTV.