Russia urges 'immediate end to killing of Palestinians with American weapons'

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian foreign minister on Saturday called for an "immediate end to the killing of Palestinians with American weapons."

Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, Sergey Lavrov said Israel's "mass collective punishment of Palestinians" is "unacceptable."

"Everyone who still has a feeling of compassion is outraged that the October tragedy is being used for mass collective punishment of the Palestinians, which turned into an unprecedented humanitarian disaster. The killing of Palestinian civilians by American weapons must be stopped immediately," he stressed. Israel has killed more than 41,000 people, most of them women and children, in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.

The minister urged deliveries of humanitarian aid and restoration of infrastructure in the Palestinian territories, emphasizing that the most important thing is the establishment of a viable Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Turning to the situation in Lebanon, where Israel continues extensive airstrikes and has killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the top Russian diplomat said the recent blowing up of pagers and communication devices was "inhumane" and called for an investigation.

"It is impossible to ignore the numerous publications in the media, including in Europe and here in the US, which indicate some kind of involvement and at least awareness of Washington regarding the preparation of this terrorist attack," he said.

Lavrov also criticized the assassination of Nasrallah, saying: "The methods of political assassinations, which have become almost a common practice, are extremely alarming, as happened again yesterday in Beirut."

Turning to the situation in Ukraine, the minister said Russia remains open to a diplomatic resolution, but it should be based on proposals, taking into account positions of all sides, praising the Brazil-China backed "Friends of Peace" initiative.

The minister also accused the UN Secretariat of biasness. He said the UN administrative body "invents excuses to introduce narratives beneficial to the West into the work of the organization, therefore undermining trust in the UN."

"It is not too late to breathe new life into the UN, but this can be done not with the help of unrealistic summits and declarations, but through the restoration of trust based on the statutory principle of the sovereign equality of all states," he said.