Sergey Lavrov says Russia cannot deem Israeli actions on Hamas as 'acceptable'

(MENAFN) On Wednesday, Russia's foreign minister stated that Moscow cannot deem Israel's methods against the Palestinian group Hamas as "acceptable."

“From the very beginning, we strongly condemned … the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7 against Israeli civilians … and urgently called for the need to suppress such terrorist activities. But, at the same time, we cannot recognize as acceptable those methods which began to be used (by Israel) against Hamas, from which civilians suffered the most,” Sergey Lavrov declared in an address at the Russian Federation Council.

Lavrov mentioned that Israel seems to believe it has the right to eliminate Hamas by any means, and he pointed out the consequences of this approach, citing the significant number of casualties in the Gaza Strip since the commencement of Israel's offensive on October 7, triggered by the Hamas attack.

“Neighborhoods are being razed to the ground, more than 18,000 civilians have already died, this figure is increasing every day, two-thirds of them are women and children. The situation is terrible," Lavrov further declared.

His comments follow a recent conversation between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Vladimir Putin. During the discussion, Netanyahu criticized the collaboration between Russia and Iran and conveyed his dissatisfaction with the positions adopted “against Israel by Russian representatives at the UN and in other forums.”

Lavrov declared that there presently is a disagreement at the UN "about who will prevail in rhetoric, in the ideological struggle."

He stated that Russia would never agree to a deal that undermines Israel's security. However, Moscow is also firm in the belief that security can only be guaranteed in line with UN decisions, which advocate for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

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