Lavrov: Russia to Support Arab States' Palestine-Israel Settlement Solution

Moscow is committed to engaging in dialogue with both Israel and Palestine, emphasizing the criticality of maintaining a balanced approach in order to actively contribute to the settlement process.

Moscow will support the Arab states’ solution on the settlement of the Palestine-Israel conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Friday following his talks with Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

“Today we discussed the initiatives that have been put forward and that will be implemented in the coming days, including the holding of the Arab League summit and the Arab-African summit on the Gaza problem,” Lavrov said.

He added that Russia always relied on “decisions, opinions, and assessments of regional countries when considering a certain conflict.”

When it comes to the Palestine-Israel standoff, “it will be fundamentally important for us to find out the common opinion of the Arab world," the top Russian diplomat stressed.

According to him, Russia “will do its best to facilitate the implementation of those plans and initiatives that will be formulated by the regional countries.

“We fully trust them in terms of ensuring peace and stability here [in Gaza] and we will back the ‘Arab solution’ on this most complicated issue,” Lavrov said, referring to the Palestine-Israel conflict.

He also made it clear that “like Kuwait, Russia flatly condemns and rejects any terrorist acts, as well as the indiscriminate use of force against civilians, and hostage-taking.”

The Russian Foreign Minister added that Moscow is very much concerned over attempts to torpedo prospects of the creation of a Palestinian state, and that Russia is “wary of plans to resettle residents of the Gaza Strip to other countries.”

“This will ensure neither peace nor security in the region,” Lavrov underscored.

The Palestine-Israel conflict escalated on October 7, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing many civilians. Israel retaliated by pounding Gaza with airstrikes and launching a ground operation into the area.

According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, 8,805 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, including at least 3,648 children and 2,187 women. Israel's death toll stands at over 1,400.