Moscow and the Arab League will work to "stop the bloodshed" in Israel and Gaza, the Russian foreign minister said Monday as he met the group's chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
Aboul Gheit was in Moscow for talks after the massive assault on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
"I am sure that Russia and the Arab League (will cooperate) above all else to stop the bloodshed," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Lavrov said it was necessary to "urgently stop clashes, solve the problem with civilians... and establish a reason why there is no solution (to the Israel-Palestinian conflict)."
He said Moscow and the Arab League will also work "with those countries that are interested in establishing lasting peace in the Middle East."
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Monday there was a "high risk" of a third party entering the conflict between Israel and Hamas, after the US said it was moving warships closer to the country.
"The risk of third forces becoming involved in this conflict is high. It is very important to find ways as soon as possible to move towards some kind of negotiation process," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency.
Reuters reports from New York: Palestine’s permanent observer to the UN on Sunday urged the international community not to let Israel “double down on its terrible choices,” but to instead encourage it to change course and remind it that “there is a path to peace, where neither Palestinians nor Israelis are killed. And it is the one diametrically opposed to the one Israel has embarked on.”
Riyad Mansour was speaking to reporters outside the Security Council chamber at the UN headquarters in New York, as ambassadors from the 15-nation body walked past for emergency consultations behind closed doors, called for by Malta and later by the UAE, to discuss the escalation in Israel and Gaza.
More than 700 Israelis have been killed in an unprecedented, wide-ranging incursion into Israel by Hamas gunmen accompanied by thousands of rockets launched by the group. At least 415 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
No statement was agreed by council members during the meeting, with Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun telling reporters on his way out that that is “abnormal.”
Mansour lamented that “history for some media and politicians starts when Israelis are killed. Our people have endured one deadly year after another.
The Palestinian people have chosen the peaceful route, he said, adding that it is incumbent upon the world to support this choice.
Reuters adds from Dubai: Iran has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces raged following a weekend assault on Israel, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday.
“Tehran has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss regional developments,” spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.
Iran said it was not involved in the attacks in which 700 Israelis were killed and dozens more abducted by the militant group Hamas. More than 400 Palestinians have also been killed.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was no evidence Iran was behind the latest attacks on Israel but he said there are long standing ties between Tehran and Hamas.
“Anyone who threatens the Islamic Republic of Iran should know that any foolish action will be met with a devastating response,” Kanaani said.
Iran’s backing for Palestinian groups is part of a broader network of militias and armed groups it supports across the Middle East, giving Tehran a powerful presence in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, as well as Gaza.
The Hamas assault, the biggest incursion into Israel in decades, coincides with US-backed moves to push Saudi Arabia toward normalizing ties with Israel in return for a defense deal between Washington and Riyadh. Such a move would slam the brakes on Saudi Arabia’s recent rapprochement with Tehran.
