Lavrov: Russia Supports Palestinians’ Hope to Establish Independent State

MOSCOW- Russia reiterates that it understands and supports the wish of the Palestinian people to achieve statehood, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.

 During his meeting with Member of the Executive Bureau of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Saib Arikat, Lavrov stressed that Moscow is concerned by the deadlock which is currently seen in the Middle East conflict settlement, according to Itar Tass.

“We are deeply concerned by the deadlock in the peace process between Palestine and Israel,” Lavrov said.

“We understand and support the wish of the Palestinian people to achieve statehood,” Lavrov said, adding that Moscow knows of the draft resolution on Palestine recently submitted to the UN Security Council.

In his turn, Arikat said the sides need to discuss a host of issues. “Now we go through a very tough moment, thank you for your support including in the UN Security Council,” he said.

The draft resolution of the UN Security Council submitted by Jordan last week gives 12 months for a comprehensive settlement of the “Palestinian-Israeli conflict”, which envisaged the creation of a “sovereign and viable” Palestinian state. The document also says that all Israeli forces must be withdrawn from the occupied territory no later than 2017.

Russian Permanent Representative in the UN Vitaly Churkin said Russia was ready to support the draft resolution on the Palestinian state. The United States said it planned to veto the resolution.

H. Mustafa