AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the UN Security Council that any discussion on the future of the Gaza Strip is useless without an immediate ceasefire there.
Addressing the 15-member council early Wednesday morning, Lavrov said the United States has failed all efforts and initiatives to stop the bloodshed in Gaza and has given Israel a "blank check" to punish the Palestinians en masse.
“To date, the Council has not mounted an appropriate response to the situation due to the position of the United States. That country has blocked all efforts and initiatives geared towards ending the bloodshed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, he said.
The whole world has witnessed that the West's "continuous disregard" for multilateral diplomacy "every time" has led to tragedy, the Russian Foreign Minister was quoted by Anadolu news agency.
Current assessments indicate that Gaza no longer appears to be habitable, Lavrov said, adding that “the United States oscillates between vetoing resolutions about the ceasefire and calling for a reduction in the intensity of hostilities in Gaza. This serves as a carte blanche for the ongoing collective punishment of Palestinians”.
He also expressed worry about the Israeli authorities' statements regarding the rejection of a two-state solution.
The top Russian diplomat also touched on tense situation on the border of Lebanon and the occupied territories, calling it "explosive".
Elesehere in his remarks, Lavrov strongly condemned the aggression of the United States and Britain against Yemen, saying their actions pose a direct threat to international peace.
The Russian foreign minister urged Security Council members to collectively work on creating an independent Palestinian state and asked them not to believe in words of the United States that "everything is under control".
He went on to call for a world order not based on Anglo-Saxon rules, but on international law with the United Nations playing a central role.
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