By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday said that the volume of humanitarian aid provided to the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict in the region is “clearly insufficient.”
“Today's situation shows how catastrophic it can be to follow a path that ignores international law. We are already seeing catastrophic humanitarian consequences in the Gaza Strip. The volume of incoming humanitarian aid is clearly insufficient, and agencies involved in humanitarian assistance within the UN are sounding the alarm,” Lavrov said during a meeting with several of his counterparts from Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries in Moscow.
Lavrov reiterated Russia’s condemnation of terrorism “in all its manifestations,” but also underlined the necessity to fight terrorism using methods that do not take “the form of collective punishment” and “grossly violate the norms of international humanitarian law.”
The Russian foreign minister called for restarting the peace process “on the internationally recognized basis that was approved within the framework of the UN and the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002.”
Lavrov also said that regional countries should be represented in the mechanism for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, adding that Russia shares the assessments of the Arab League and OIC countries on the need for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
“Stopping hostilities, resolving humanitarian issues, and releasing hostages” is their priority right now, he added.
The meeting in Moscow is also attended by the foreign ministers of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia and Jordan, as well as OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha.