US impedes all efforts to stop bloodshed in Gaza: Lavrov
3 Min Read
The Russian Foreign Minister says his country is voicing concerns about the Israeli leadership's stance to call into question the two-state solution.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss the situation in the Middle East at UN headquarters in New York on January 23, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated on Tuesday that the United States is impeding all efforts to stop the ongoing war in Gaza.
"Until now, our council has failed to provide an adequate answer to this truly momentous challenge. The reason is known: it is the stance of the US that is blocking all efforts and initiatives to stop bloodshed in the occupied territories," Lavrov said at a UN Security Council meeting.
The top Russian diplomat stressed that the international community cannot bury the idea of Palestinian sovereignty as it did with the Minsk agreements on Ukraine.
"We cannot bury the idea of Palestinian statehood just like we buried the Minsk agreements," he said.
The Russian minister mentioned that his country is voicing concerns about the Israeli leadership's stance to call into question the two-state solution.
"We're concerned by the Israeli leadership calling this formula into question," Lavrov said.
This comes as Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated several times during the past couple of days his uncompromising position on maintaining full security control over the occupied West Bank, declaring that his "insistence has prevented for years the establishment of a Palestinian state that would have constituted an existential threat to Israel," and widening the gap between him and his closest ally, the United States, over the two-state solution file.
Russia expressed the need for consultations at the ministerial level to solidify decisions made by key regional players and formulate practical measures in backing the restoration of Palestinian unity, Lavrov announced.
Earlier, Lavrov held a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, where the two foreign ministers agreed that it is important to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"The ministers emphasized the importance of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and resolving the situation by political and diplomatic means based on decisions of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly," the ministry said in a statement.
Lavrov also met with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Maliki in New York where both sides "emphasized the importance of ending bloodshed as soon as possible."
In the same context, the top Russian diplomat underlined during an interview with CBS that the United States must end its hostilities and stop vetoing UN ceasefire resolutions in order to resolve the crisis in the Middle East.
"Stop the fighting. Don't use veto when a resolution is proposed to declare humanitarian ceasefire. You used vetoes twice. There is no reaction from the Security Council as regards to demand a ceasefire. And of course, don't drag on like your predecessors did for decades on creating the Palestinian state," Lavrov said.
