Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned in dramatic terms that time could be running out for the possibility of reaching a peaceful settlement of the Palestine-Israeli conflict, in his press conference Sept. 11, at the conclusion of the Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue in Sochi. He warned against the Israeli proposal to create an Israeli-controlled “entity” in Gaza through “ethnic cleansing,” reminding that the failure to allow a Palestinian state is the root cause of the crisis in the region. Russia, he reported, has been trying to make this reality clear to the United States.
Lavrov was asked if Russia views its GCC Strategic Dialogue “as a venue for advancing initiatives” for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement—and if such a settlement is even still possible after Israel’s strike on Doha on Sept. 9.
Action is needed to “pull the settlement process back from where it is now, namely, on the brink of the abyss. It may well turn out that they [not identified—ed.] will force on us the viewpoint promoted by Israel, which claims a Palestinian state is not needed, and the Palestinians need to be resettled and, following the ethnic cleansing, an entity controlled by Israel should be created in the Gaza Strip. This is a very dangerous approach,” Lavrov responded.
“As we were exchanging opinions in a closed format today, everyone agreed that the unresolved Palestinian issue was the root cause of all the troubles in the Middle East, because the solemnly promised by the General Assembly for 80 years now Palestinian state, which was to be created concurrently with the State of Israel, has not so far been proclaimed.
“If you look at the map, much has changed since the time the General Assembly resolution was adopted. Already in 1967, the map underwent significant changes. If you look at what is happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank now … [t]he Netanyahu government has adopted an unprecedented decision to build new settlements in unheard-of numbers. The isolated dots on the map of the West Bank are now merging to form a blot.
“There is word that someone in Israel is already discussing an option of creating one or two Palestinian municipalities on the West Bank instead of a state, which is alarming news that is growing bigger. We are discussing this with our U.S. colleagues and trying to convey the idea that without eliminating the root cause, which is taking the right to their own state away from the Palestinians, expecting the situation in the Middle East to calm down is an exercise in futility, and the extremist sentiment will be stirred even more if that state of affairs remains unchanged.”
