(MENAFN) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace proposal as “the best thing on the negotiating table at the moment,” while acknowledging it falls short of fully resolving the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In a significant development, Hamas has freed all 20 remaining hostages captured during its incursion into Israel two years ago. Meanwhile, West Jerusalem has begun releasing 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, actions aligned with Trump’s 20-point roadmap aimed at ending the Gaza war.

President Trump, who has traveled to Israel for the occasion, addressed the Knesset, Israel’s national legislature, declaring the prisoner exchange the start of “the golden age of the Middle East.”

Speaking to Arabic media on Monday, Lavrov emphasized the urgent need “to stop the bloodshed as soon as possible and resolve the grave humanitarian problems” in Gaza, while cautioning, “of course, the Palestinian issue is not resolved by this.”

Lavrov pointed out that Trump’s initiative primarily targets Gaza’s immediate crisis and only vaguely references Palestinian statehood. Notably, the United States and Israel were among just ten countries that outright rejected a two-state solution during last month’s UN General Assembly session, joining Tonga, Palau, Nauru, and Micronesia.

The Russian minister reiterated Moscow’s commitment to a two-state solution, stressing that “the creation of a single, territorially integral Palestinian state within the 1967 borders” consistent with UN Security Council resolutions is essential for a final peace settlement.

Trump’s plan acknowledges the Palestinians’ right to self-determination as “the aspiration” of the people but conditions statehood on progress in Gaza’s redevelopment and faithful implementation of Palestinian Authority reforms.

Currently, 157 of the 193 UN member states recognize the State of Palestine. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly declared that a Palestinian state “will never happen.”

The latest Gaza conflict erupted after a Hamas attack in October 2023 killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. Israel’s military response has resulted in over 67,000 deaths and nearly 170,000 wounded, according to local health authorities, triggering a surge in international support for Palestine’s recognition.

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