Recent events in the Middle East have once again shown that genuine peace and security in the region are impossible without a fair and lasting resolution to the Palestinian issue, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said at a UN conference focused on achieving a peaceful settlement for Palestine.
“This high-level international conference—in support of a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict—may be delayed by nearly a month and a half, but recent unprecedented crises and the surge in violence have again demonstrated: without a fair and lasting resolution for Palestine, real peace and stability will not come to the region,” Vershinin noted.
He emphasized that the Palestinian people’s legitimate aspirations for their own sovereign state and their fundamental rights to self-determination and return “have been postponed unacceptably long—over 80 years.” Vershinin recalled that the two-state formula was enshrined as far back as the very first relevant UN decision—General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947, which called for partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab states with Jerusalem under a special international regime. “But only one of those two states—Israel—was actually created,” he noted.
“The USSR was the first country to recognize Israel both de facto and de jure, with diplomatic relations established almost immediately after Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948. At the same time, Moscow has always supported the creation of an independent, viable Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital—one that could peacefully coexist with Israel,” Vershinin added.
He also reminded the audience that since 1990, Palestine has had an embassy in Moscow. “Russia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, as well as that by dozens of other countries, was not made for praise but to help advance the two-state solution and, in fact, contributed to preserving it,” he said.
Mass Dehumanization
The deputy minister stressed that “what is happening today in the occupied Palestinian territories, as has been justly noted, defies description. We are witnessing a tragedy of mass dehumanization, suffering, enormous casualties and destruction.”
“We have repeatedly stated that the Hamas attack and hostage-taking—which has left many people still in captivity—must be unequivocally condemned. However, this attack cannot serve as justification for the collective punishment of millions of Palestinians for nearly 21 months. Nor should it be an excuse to provoke a broader regional war,” Vershinin said.
He noted that the statistics on Palestinian casualties in Gaza are shocking: more than 60,000 people killed.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on TASS materials