Russian Foreign Minister Comments on Denial of Zelensky's 'Deadline' for Middle East Settlement

Sergei Lavrov stressed that Moscow will not accept Volodymyr Zelensky's promises.

Moscow, October 12. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a press conference after talks with Youssef Raji, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration of Lebanon, that Volodymyr Zelensky has not obtained a deadline in hostilities, and Russia will not agree to his promises.

He also noted that Russia welcomes the start of direct dialogue between Israel and Lebanon with the mediation of the United States.

Tass has compiled the key statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has not had a break in the campaign: "I don't think he has taken a break."

Russia will not be taken by his promises: "I don't think we will ever face guarantees and promises again. The president [Vladimir Putin] of Russia has made that clear. We continue to achieve the goals of special military operations. They are known to everyone. We have never changed them, unlike Zelensky and his European masters who do not zigzag and change course for us.

Russia believes that the Israeli army violates international laws and incites tensions in Lebanon: "Regarding the ongoing actions of Israel in Lebanon, we reaffirmed the principled position of the Russian Federation in support of the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Republic of Lebanon. fueling more tensions and intensifying tensions in Lebanon".

Russia welcomed the start of direct dialogue with US mediation between Israel and Lebanon: "We welcomed the start of direct dialogue between Israel and Lebanon with US mediation. We stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire, as civilians are suffering, and the need to steer the conflict towards a political and diplomatic solution, including ensuring the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which sets out all essential obligations of the parties. If this resolution was implemented, the problems that Lebanon and Israel are facing today would have been solved a long time ago.

"Russia actively supports Lebanon and the Lebanese side in the discussion at the UN Security Council. The next opportunity will be before the end of this year, when the UN Interim Force Mission in Lebanon is to be discussed. These forces have played a very important role in preventing the complete destabilization of escalation, as they are unable to prevent escalation altogether. They simply lack the physical capacity to do so."

Russia sees opportunities to advance the agenda to solve all the problems in the Middle East: "We very much hope that we can make progress both in our contacts with the Lebanese and in our contacts with the Israelis that we maintain. We have always said that we are interested in guaranteeing the security of Israel in this context, the complete resolution of our relations with our Arab neighbors and the comprehensive solution of all problems in the Middle East based on the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, which of course also includes the creation of a Palestinian state. We see opportunities to advance such an agenda. "However, this requires that our Israeli colleagues share the understanding that a solution acceptable to all is necessary, and we constantly urge them to do so."

Russia appreciates Lebanon's understanding of the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine: "We appreciate the understanding that the Lebanese side consistently shows about Russia's actions and the root causes of this conflict."

In this conversation, Russia and Lebanon emphasized their "mutual commitment to further expand political dialogue and strengthen partnership relations in various fields."

Moscow hopes that Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji will participate in the seventh meeting of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum: We hope that my Lebanese counterpart will participate in the upcoming seventh meeting of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum at the level of foreign ministers, which is scheduled to be held in Moscow before the end of this year.

Russia and Lebanon agreed to resume the work of the intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation as soon as possible: "To this end, we agreed that the work of the intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation, which has not been held since 2018, as soon as possible.