Lavrov says West tries to 'drown' topic of establishment on Palestinian state in 'dubious initiatives'

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavorv said on Thursday that Western countries and specifically the US are trying to "drown" the topic of an independent Palestinian state in "dubious initiatives."

"We have the impression that our Western colleagues are not ready to try hard in the interests of creating a Palestinian state. ... They are trying to drown the topic of the establishment of a Palestinian state in various dubious initiatives to convene one conference, another, based on principles that are at odds with the principles laid down in Security Council resolutions," he said at a news conference in Tunisia.

He said Russia, Tunisia, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation stand firm and aim to persistently seek the establishment of a Palestinian state, because in the long term it is the only means that will allow to eliminate the possibility of crises being currently witnessed in Gaza.

At least 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to health officials in the enclave. There’s also been widespread destruction of homes and other infrastructure.

Israel says 1,200 people were killed in Oct. 7 incursion by Hamas.

Lavrov said Russia's efforts in the Middle East are impeded by Western countries.

"We know for sure that any trip of the Russian delegation, including the Foreign Ministry, to the countries of the Arab world, the Middle East and North Africa is always preceded by demarches of Western diplomats who caution, warn, maybe even hint at the consequences," he said.

As the conflict rages, a two-state solution, already supported by several countries, has been again making headlines. It would see Palestinians and Israelis each have a sovereign state of their own.

Turning to bilateral cooperation with Tunis, Lavrov said there is mutual interest in developing cooperation in energy and agriculture.

"There is interest in expanding the supply of our grain, Tunisian President (Kais Saied) spoke about this today. As you know, we are ready for this," he said.

- Germans 'thievish' nation

Asked about the German's Attorney General's office's announcement that it requested expropriation of €720 million of Russian assets in favor of the state budget, Lavrov said: "The nation is thievish we have long ago realized that."

"It used to be thievish in the political sense, in the sense of reneging on agreements, in the sense of trying to deceive someone. But now it is thievish in the truest sense."

According to Lavrov, the US is "explaining in closed contacts" to European counterparts how to amend the laws so that they allow "to steal Russian assets."

"They are now nurturing this idea of finding some legal ways to confiscate Russian assets. ... The Europeans have still retained some signs of respect for their own laws, so they are delaying these decisions. But according to our data, the Americans in closed contacts explain to them how to change these laws in order to take everything and finally steal," he said.

The minister warned that there are some European assets in Russia and they can be taken in response to compensate losses.