Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed in his speech that Washington's attempt to “monopolize the Middle East settlement process has led to a catastrophic situation.”
He vehemently denounced terrorist attacks and any other actions that cause harm to civilian populations or that otherwise violate international humanitarian law. In addition, he urgently called for an immediate ceasefire.
However, he added that the negotiations on “establishing a sovereign Palestinian state” must start and highlighted that such a state was “promised to the Palestinian people 75 years ago.”
On Ukrainian Bid To Get Unilateral Security Guarantees
Foreign Minister Lavrov dismissed Ukraine's attempts to secure unilateral security guarantees, stating that they are all in vain.
"The Kiev regime's attempts to secure unilateral security guarantees from its Western masters are also futile. This also suggests that the goal is to tear Russia and Belarus away from the arrangements that the West subsequently wants to build on the continent," Lavrov said at a high-level international conference dubbed "Eurasian Security: Reality and Prospects in a Transforming World."
On Consuquences of US Nuclear Policy
Moscow is forced to resort to “compensatory measures” in response to Washington's deployment of nuclear weapons in Europe, the top diplomat emphasized.
The West has demolished the system of confidence-building measures and arms control in Europe, the diplomacy chief said, referring to the US withdrawal from the treaties on missile defense, and on the prohibition of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles, among other things.
"Mounting strategic risks are created due to the forward deployment of American nuclear weapons in a number of European countries and the implementation of so-called joint nuclear missions. This has an extremely destabilizing effect. Against the backdrop of a general increase in threats from NATO, it forces us to resort to compensatory measures," Lavrov stressed.
On Eurasian Security and Readiness for Negotiations
Russia is ready for a dialogue with the Western states on the issue of European security, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday, adding that most of the country's European neighbors are "subordinated" to the United States and a discussion would be able to take place if the European countries seek "independence."
"As for the attitude of our Western neighbors on the Eurasian continent to this prospect, so far they are obviously completely, practically the vast majority of them, subordinated to Washington, and we do not see any prospects for a meaningful conversation with most of these countries today. But in principle, I want to emphasize this again, we are always ready to work together if our Western neighbors on the continent find the strength to become independent," Lavrov said at a high-level international conference dubbed Eurasian Security: Reality and Prospects in a Transforming World in Minsk.
The Russian top diplomat also said that the issue of European security requires "titanic work," and postponing its practical start "would only create additional risks."