Russian envoy says ‘tragic events’ ongoing in Gaza can be viewed as ‘genocide’

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Russian envoy said Thursday that the “tragic events” in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 can be viewed as “genocide.”

“The tragic events in the Gaza Strip have become inhumane. It is truly a crime that so many people, including women and children, died in a short time. This can be viewed as genocide,” Russia’s Special Envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, told journalists at a news conference in the Kazakh capital of Astana following the 21st Astana format talks.

Expressing that the talks paid special attention to discussing regional developments, as well as the situation in Syria against the backdrop of what is happening in the region, Lavrentiev said the International Court of Justice must evaluate this definition from a legal perspective.

Lavrentiev further said that Israel’s permissiveness may lead to extremely negative consequences for the entire Middle East, especially with regard to neighboring countries.

“If the war continues in the Gaza Strip, the conflict will inevitably spill over to Lebanon and Syria. If these countries also get involved in this war, other countries in the Middle East region will also suffer. Nobody wants it to be like this,” said Lavrentiev.

He went on to say that the international community needs to avert such threats, adding that they need to promptly work on establishing the Palestinian state and to promote a two-state solution, which he said the Israeli leadership rejects.

“The international community will have to do a lot of serious work and do it as soon as possible to persuade Israel that the clashes in the Gaza Strip should be stopped and the two-state solution should be sat at the negotiating table in consultation with the Palestinians,” he said.

Expressing that the world cannot afford the region to become one big conflict zone, the special envoy claimed there are forces that are “fueling the fire” by bombing Yemen.

“Of course, we condemn the targeting of civilian commercial ships passing through these straits (the Bab al-Mandab Strait), but these actions are disproportionate and bombing Yemen is unacceptable … Violence leads to more violence,” he said.

The 21st meeting in the Astana format began Wednesday, during which representatives from Türkiye, Iran, Russia, Syria and the UN gathered to discuss the effect of the situation in Gaza on Syria in the wake of new attacks by Israel.