NNA – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that creating a Palestinian state was the ldquo;most reliablerdquo; solution for peace in Israel and that fighting terrorism alone would not ensure security.
He spoke during a press conference with the head of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who visited Russia after the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a massive surprise attack on Saturday.
Creating a ldquo;Palestinian state that would live side by side with Israel… is the most reliable path to solve (the conflict),rdquo; Lavrov said.
ldquo;We cannot agree with those who say that security can only be ensured through a fight with terrorism.rdquo;
He said Moscow was ldquo;deeply concerned that hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians have died and that the Gaza Sector has been declared a target for Israeli retaliation.rdquo;
Lavrov said Russia — in the midst of its almost 20-month long Ukraine offensive — had ldquo;serious questionsrdquo; about Western policy on Israel.
ldquo;They say that (fighting) should be stopped immediately, that Israel should destroy the terrorists,rdquo; Lavrov said.
ldquo;But this was done before… and never after the situation calmed down did they come to the fact that the main reason (for the conflict) needs to be eliminated,rdquo; he said.
ldquo;The Palestinian problem should not be delayed further.rdquo;
Lavrov earlier said that Russia and the Arab League would work to ldquo;stop the bloodshedrdquo; in Israel and Gaza.
Aboul Gheit, meanwhile, said he condemned ldquo;the violence, but from all sides.rdquo;
ldquo;We demand the creation of political prospects and a fair resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,rdquo; he said.
The Kremlin said Monday it feared a foreign player could enter the conflict after the US moved warships closer to its ally Israel.
ldquo;The risk of third forces becoming involved in this conflict is high,rdquo; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency.
ldquo;It is very important to find ways as soon as possible to move towards some kind of negotiation process in order to reduce this escalation and move away from a military solution,rdquo; he said.–AFP
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