UPDATE - Russia concerned about Muslims’ access to holy sites in Jerusalem

UPDATES WITH REMARKS ON POSSIBLE CEASE-FIRE

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed concern Wednesday about the situation in Jerusalem where Muslims have encountered problems gaining access to holy sites.

Zakharova said the problems of the status of Jerusalem and holy places in the city must be solved as part of a comprehensive diplomatic process on the Israeli-Palestinian settlement.

"The Russian Federation stands for starting collective work today in the interests of creating the necessary conditions for a political settlement of this long-standing crisis based on the principle of two states, Palestine and Israel, existing in peace and security,” she said.

"Within the framework of a comprehensive diplomatic process, solutions must be found to fundamental problems, including the problem of the status of Jerusalem and the holy sites located there. In the context of today's events, the situation in this city with the onset of the holy month of Ramadan is of serious concern," she said in response to a question by Anadolu at a news conference in Moscow.

Zakharova said the world is waiting for practical steps to end the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip, and that chances to stop it would be much higher if the US did not veto relevant draft resolutions in the UN Security Council.

"I would like to remind that (after vetoing the Russian draft after Oct. 7,), the US delegation thrice vetoed in the UN Security Council, initiatives aimed at calling a cease-fire and halt of the hostilities," she said.

Zakharova emphasized that right after solving the primary task of declaring a cease-fire, a political process has to be started because the history of the conflict shows that without bridging fundamental chasms, sides violate all cease-fire agreements in time after achieving it.

The spokeswoman opposed attempts to revert the state of affairs to what it was before Oct. 7 and said it would not give necessary results, and only a two-state solution could end the conflict.

Turning to the ongoing talks in Cairo, where Qatar, Egypt and the US are trying to persuade the warring sides to declare a cease-fire, Zakharova said the last humanitarian pause in November 2023 had a positive effect because it allowed to release some hostages and increase the delivery of humanitarian aid into the enclave.

However, humanitarian pauses are not enough, it is necessary to seek the establishment of a long-term "regime of silence", which would make it possible to resolve the conflict through a political and diplomatic channel, she emphasized.

"This is exactly what we have been trying to achieve in close cooperation with our Arab partners for several months in the UN Security Council. However, any efforts aimed at adopting a document on a sustainable cease-fire are blocked by the US, which takes a politicized one-sided position, delaying the normalization," she said.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.