Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chaired a meeting of the UN Security Council on the Gaza war, yesterday. “We need a frank and honest conversation on how to stop the bloodshed and suffering of civilians without delay, and how to move to a long-term settlement of both old and relatively new conflicts [in the Middle East],” he said, according to the transcript posted by the Russian UN mission. He added that the Middle Eastern region “faces unprecedented risks for security, welfare and peaceful life of its peoples.”
“We are all aware of the behind-the-scenes communication, the plans that are being hatched that look to future arrangements in Gaza and the entire Palestinian state, although there is little talk of a state there. We believe that everyone should respect the principle of ‘not a word about Palestine without Palestine,’” he said. “The Palestinians are able to decide their own future without outside interference, no matter how much someone wants to decide everything for them and against their will,” Lavrov stated.
Lavrov laid responsibility for the unending violence on the U.S. “By offering a diplomatic cover-up for Israel’s actions and sending weapons and munitions, Washington—everybody understands this—has become directly complicit in the conflict, just as it does regarding the situation in Ukraine. Once this support ends, bloodshed will stop. However, the United States is either unwilling or unable to do so. Apparently, the key thing is not saving human lives, but the maneuvers that will enable them to score more points in the election campaign,” Lavrov said. He stressed that “the current unprecedented outburst of violence in the Middle East is largely a consequence of the well-known U.S policy in the region.”
Lavrov also expressed support for Palestine’s accession to the UN. “In 1949, we supported Israel’s UN membership application—under the condition of implementation of UN General Assembly Resolutions 181 and 194 regarding the right of Palestinian refugees for repatriation,” he said. “We proceed from the imperative of implementation of UN decisions, including the above-mentioned General Assembly resolutions and the key Security Council resolutions—number 242 and 338—adopted after the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, as well as resolutions number 478 and 497 regarding the status of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights,” he added.
Lavrov also scored the accelerated expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. “The situation in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem is difficult. Force raids of Israeli troops and aggression of the settlers continue there, accompanied by casualties on both sides,” he said. “In violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, Israel not only fails to reduce, but actually ramps up the construction of illegal settlements.” Lavrov particularly noted that, in addition to the expropriation of land and destruction of Palestinians’ homes, Israel carries out a “retrospective legalization of settlers’ outposts, whose construction is deemed illegal even by the Israeli legislation.”
