Russia says any discussions about Gaza’s future without immediate cease-fire are ‘useless’

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that any discussions about the future of the Gaza Strip without an immediate cease-fire are “useless.”

Speaking at a UN Security Council session on the situation in Gaza, Lavrov said the US has blocked all efforts and initiatives to stop the bloodshed in Gaza, noting that Washington is giving Israel “carte blanche” to collectively punish the Palestinians.

He said the whole world is waiting for the West to realize that its “persistent disregard” for multilateral diplomacy leads to tragedies “time after time.”

Saying assessments of the current situation in Gaza indicate the land there is unlikely to ever be suitable for life, Lavrov defined the situation on the border between Lebanon and Israel as “explosive.”

He said Russia is “alarmed” over statements by the Israeli leadership that call into question the two-state formula for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“Unlike some Western colleagues who profess double standards, we do not divide extremists into good and bad, into friends and foes. We insist on the release of all those detained in Gaza, regardless of their nationality and origin,” he said.

He added that Russia categorically condemns the US and UK’s aggression against Yemen, which he said poses a threat to peace and law and order.

Lavrov called on members of the UN Security Council not to fall for US assurances that Washington has “everything under control” and to not postpone the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Israel has mounted a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed 1,200 people.

At least 25,490 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 63,354 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.