MOSCOW: The Russian foreign minister on Wednesday called on UN chief Antonio Guterres to organise an international conference to find a lasting solution to the war between Israel and the Palestinians.
Moscow has repeatedly called for the creation of a Palestinian state and has working relations with both Hamas – which it does not recognise as a terrorist organisation – and Israel.
“The only way for this problem to be solved forever, and to be solved in a just way, is to hold an international conference with all five permanent members of the UN Security Council,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian senators.
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He said the conference should include representatives of countries from the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
“The UN should play a leading role in convening such an event,” he said, adding: “I trust that the UN Secretary General is quite capable of such an initiative.”
Russia is one of five permanent UN Security Council members, along with China, France, the UK and the US.
Lavrov said that the “continuing injustice against the Palestinian people, to whom the creation of a Palestinian state was promised… fuels very serious terrorist and extremist sentiments.”
He also ensured that Moscow was doing everything in its power to release hostages Hamas took during its unprecedented attack on Israel in October.
Hamas has in recent weeks released three Russian citizens that it held hostage in a deal outside of agreements with Israel.
Russia has been increasingly critical of Israel during its military operation in Gaza, with President Vladimir Putin denouncing the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation.
The bloodiest-ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas gunmen attacked Israel on October 7, killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 240 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel, determined to destroy Hamas and bring the hostages home, launched a devastating aerial and ground offensive on Gaza.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, the war has killed more than 18,400 people, mostly women and children.
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