Moscow ready to mediate between Palestine and Israel, Foreign Ministry says

19 May 2021

 

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Israeli Ambassador in Moscow Alexander Ben Zvi of Russia's readiness to mediate between Palestinians and Israelis, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.


"In a frank exchange of views on the situation in Israeli-Palestinian relations, including around the Gaza Strip, the Russian side expressed extreme concern over the escalation of tensions and emphasized the inadmissibility of steps fraught with further increases in the number of civilian casualties," the ministry said.


"At the same time, Moscow's continued readiness to provide mediation services to the parties concerned in order to facilitate the earliest possible settlement of the conflict at the negotiating table on a well-known international legal basis was confirmed," the ministry noted.


The situation on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip escalated on the evening of May 10. Since the escalation began, about 3.7 thousand rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave on Israeli territory, about 540 fell inside the enclave, the effectiveness of the Iron Dome missile defense system Israel estimates at 90%. According to the latest information, 12 people were killed in Israel and more than 50 people were seriously wounded. The number of Palestinians killed in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes reached 217, among the victims 63 minors.

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry

Based on materials from RIA Novosti