9/9/2024–|Last update: 9/9/202409:38 PM (Makkah Time)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Israel is imposing impossible conditions in return for mediators’ initiatives regarding Gaza, indicating that the Middle East is on the brink of a major regional war.
Lavrov added – during the strategic dialogue meeting between the Gulf states and Russia held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh – that the initiatives presented at the United Nations, including the Russian initiative, were suspended, and that US President Joe Biden’s plan is being ignored by Israel.
Lavrov warned that “the Middle East is once again on the brink of a major regional war, and it is our common responsibility to prevent this,” he said.
He explained that “Russia is working with all parties in this regard,” noting that “without resolving the Palestinian-Israeli problem, the Middle East will not be able to develop in a stable manner.”
Lavrov pointed out that “the inability of the international community to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip led to a sharp deterioration in the military-political situation throughout the Middle East, from the borders of Lebanon and Israel to the Red Sea, while at the same time the confrontation between Israel and Iran reached a new dangerous level.”
He pointed out that the international community has failed to stop the aggression and killing in Gaza, stressing that “the current violence against the Palestinians is unprecedented, and has not been witnessed in any of the Arab-Israeli wars.”
He explained that “the United States of America was the reason for obstructing all international legitimacy decisions to cease fire in Gaza,” stressing that “Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council are making every effort to reach a ceasefire and establish an independent Palestinian state on the basis of international legitimacy decisions.”
The Russian Foreign Minister stressed that the establishment of a Palestinian state is the basis for achieving comprehensive peace in the Middle East, adding that there is no real peace unless this issue is resolved.
With American support, Israel has been waging a war on Gaza since October 7, resulting in more than 135,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children.