Risk of instability looms over large swath of Middle East, says Lavrov

Moscow (ST) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has affirmed that there is a real risk of instability over large swath of the Middle East.

During the first meeting under Moscow’s BRICS chairmanship of the 10-member intergovernmental organization’s “sherpas”, Lavrov said: “In the current situation, there is a real danger of destabilizing a much larger region in the Middle East.”

Lavrov stressed that the American attempts to monopolize mediation efforts in a settlement in the Middle East led to a sharp escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories and a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza Strip, in which more than 25,000 civilians were killed.

“At the same time, Israel’s refusal to implement the UN Security Council resolutions regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state is being ignored, which constitutes a direct challenge to the numerous resolutions issued by the Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly”.

“The establishment of a Palestinian state is the key to achieving long-term stability in the Middle East and eliminating extremism and terrorism in that region”, Lavrov added.

Lavrov indicated that the Western minority line, which includes betting on putting pressure on the rejecting countries, raises very serious crises in international relations and will increase the number of conflicts.

He stated that incorrect trends were noticed, not only at the level of the Euro-Atlantic alliance, but also in the Asia-Pacific region, where Washington and NATO seek to adopt the logic of confrontation between the blocs.

Najla Khoury