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International Desk //

The bloody conflict that has been going on in the Middle East for decades can be permanently resolved if only one condition is implemented; and that is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made this comment in a recent interview.

A few days ago, Lavrov gave an interview to the Turkish daily Hurriyet. Hurriyet published the interview on Friday. In response to a question regarding the recent conflict in the Middle East, Lavrov said, ‘Conflicts have been going on in the Middle East for the past several decades. Recently, we are seeing that the level of violence in that region is increasing day by day and one country after another is sinking into a vortex of conflict from which no one can emerge victorious.’

“However, conflict and violence will stop in the Middle East only if only one condition is met. That is, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and this must be done while preserving, as much as possible, the borders that were drawn between the two countries in 1967.”

The recent conflict in the Middle East began on October 7, 2023, with the attack on Israeli territory by fighters from Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip. Since that day, the Israel Defense Forces began an operation in Gaza, which is still ongoing. 1,200 people have been killed in attacks by Hamas fighters in Israel, while 43,259 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing Israeli campaign in Gaza.

However, the war has not been limited to the Gaza Strip; it has also spread to Lebanon, Iran and Syria. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been operating in Lebanon since last September. At the same time, the country’s air force has carried out brief airstrikes in Syria and Iran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already threatened to launch a military strike on Israel at any time.

Almost all of the top commanders of Hamas and the Lebanese-based armed political group Hezbollah have already been killed in the Israeli military operation.

A week after the Israeli military operation in Gaza began, Russia proposed a ceasefire proposal at the UN Security Council for the first time. The other permanent member of the council, China, also supported the proposal. But it was not adopted due to objections from the United States.

Lavrov told Hurriyet, “The situation in the Middle East conflict is still under control. But if the violence continues, the situation will get out of control at any time. Then a catastrophe will begin.”