Russia is hopeful that UN Secretary-General António Guterres will take a firm stand in defense of UN staff in the Middle East following Israeli attacks on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov following a meeting of the “3+3” platform (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia – Russia, Turkey, Iran) on the South Caucasus.
“When there are attacks on the staff of the UN agency providing aid to Palestinian refugees, delivering humanitarian assistance becomes extremely difficult. And when peacekeepers from the UN mission in Lebanon are asked to step aside because Israel needs to strike positions they are occupying, that is completely unacceptable. I sincerely hope that the UN Secretary-General will stand up for his employees and do so from a principled position,” said Lavrov.
He emphasized that Russia, in turn, insists that the UN Security Council “make this demand as soon and as clearly as possible.”
Lavrov reiterated that Moscow consistently calls for the immediate cessation of all violence. “We strongly condemn any terrorist acts, as we did following the attack on October 7 last year. But we also condemn actions that amount to brutal, aggressive collective punishment of Palestinians, as we are currently witnessing. Furthermore, it’s not just Palestinians who are suffering—Lebanese civilians are now affected as well. Strikes are also being carried out on Syrian and Iraqi territories, and we are seeing the spread of political assassinations, which are deeply troubling under international law,” he explained.
According to the minister, Israel aims to draw Iran into the conflict, hoping that this will lead to the direct involvement of the United States in a broader Middle East war.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Steve Calcott/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS