Statement by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin at the High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution
Distinguished Co-chairs,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The events unfolding in the Middle East have gone beyond all acceptable bounds. Over the past three years, we have witnessed a surge in the terrorist threat, acts of aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of UN Member States in violation of the UN Charter, and attacks on nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.
In the Gaza Strip, as a result of Israel’s military operation, a massive man-made famine has unfolded before our very eyes. Those in need are being shot while queuing for food rations, 50,000 children have already perished, and some 10,000 more minors are suffering from acute malnutrition. According to representatives of the UN humanitarian arm, “Gaza City has been handed a death sentence.”
The Israeli leadership’s plans to annex most of the West Bank and implement the E1 settlement project essentially mean another death sentence, the one that would destroy the prospect of creating a territorially contiguous and viable State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Today, the Palestinian people are being subjected to inhuman suffering, stripped of their dignity, and robbed of their hope for a better future. It is regretful that this is occurring on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the founding of the United Nations itself.
Distinguished colleagues,
During the first round of the High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution this past July, a number of delegations pledged to recognize the State of Palestine. Today, they have fulfilled that pledge. They have done so nearly 80 years after the adoption of the landmark UN General Assembly Resolution 181, which established the partition plan for the former mandated territory of Palestine into two states.
Let me recall that Russia, alongside the overwhelming majority of the world – 149 countries – has long recognized the legitimate rights of the Palestinians to return and to self-determination, and their legitimate aspirations for their own state. We did so without waiting for the current human tragedy to unfold, a monstrous catastrophe that has claimed the lives of at least 65,000 Palestinians.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As we have made clear on numerous occasions, the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 and the taking of hostages must be condemned unequivocally. However, this horrific attack cannot and must not be used as a pretext for the collective punishment of millions of Palestinians, nor can it justify actions that destabilize the entire Middle East. Security, in this region as everywhere else, must be indivisible.
The time has come not only to make bold statements and offer recognitions, but to act decisively. We must secure an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, release all hostages and prisoners, guarantee safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and relaunch an irreversible peace process that will establish an independent, sovereign State of Palestine, coexisting side by side with Israel.
For many years, Russia has maintained its principled position, refusing to yield to political whims or momentary pressures.
We will continue to work alongside the overwhelming majority of Member States in the Security Council and the General Assembly – those who time and again vote not to obstruct, but to build. They vote to forge a better future and to secure peace in the Middle East, for which far too high a price has already been paid.
Thank you.
