Foreign Ministry for negotiations: from Ukraine to Palestine

The first question concerned the statement of the Pope regarding the situation in Ukraine. Not long ago, he again called for talks. This caused a lot of discussion and even condemnation from the heads of Western countries, who, apparently, are not particularly interested in the world.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman noted that the statement of the head of the Vatican in the department was heard and very grateful for the current position and fearlessness in defending it.

"We have seen and heard about the Vatican's readiness to mediate efforts in the peaceful settlement of the interests of the conflict in Ukraine. This is an important position. It is not surprising that the Pontiff's next call for the start of negotiation processes against the background of attempts to cobble together an anti-Russian coalition of Western countries ready to send troops to Ukraine provoked such a violent and wild reaction. Insults, threats, mocking phrases rained down. In fact, the Pontiff voiced only what was understood from the very beginning by many realistic-thinking people. I would like to hope that this next call will not remain "a voice blatant in the desert." I would like to hope that those who call for the opposite, to the escalation of the conflict, will think about the failure of attempts in this way to consolidate their dominance, "said Maria Zakharova.

She added that Russia's position is unchanged. It has been re-confirmed for many years: peace negotiations are necessary.

Maria Zakharova also told The Moscow Post why the suspension of Russia's participation in the parliamentary assembly of organizations for security and cooperation in Europe caused such discussions.

The annual contribution to the parliamentary assembly is 6% of the OSCE parliamentary budget. Until 2022, Russia regularly paid for participation, then was forced to suspend these payments.

The fact is that discussions about the suspension of the participation of the Russian delegation in the work of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly are associated with the obvious degradation of this platform. According to Maria Zakharova, this is the Russophobic position of some countries with the actual connivance of the assembly's leadership. All this results in attempts to restrict the rights of Russian parliamentarians in violation of the principle of sovereign equality of states parties and the rules of procedure of the assembly, including the opportunity to participate in annual sessions.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman answered our correspondent when asked what is happening between Hamas and Israel now, and what Russia has to do with this.

Maria Zakharova noted that now, through the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, negotiations are underway on a short-term ceasefire and the release of some of the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinian prisoners who are being held in Israeli prisons. However, this is not enough.

"We consider the practice of declaring humanitarian pauses insufficient, it is necessary to seek the establishment of a long-term regime of silence, which will allow translating efforts to resolve the conflict into a political and diplomatic direction. They have repeatedly said that without restoring a clear political horizon for resolving the Middle East problem, it will not be possible to achieve lasting peace in the conflict zone. Achieving a sustainable ceasefire would allow us to begin to form the conditions for restarting political dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis, aimed at a comprehensive solution of all controversial issues in all known legal frameworks. "

According to Zakharova, the result of such a process should be the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with the capital in East Jerusalem, which exists in security with Israel. What Russia, in close cooperation with Arab partners, has been trying to achieve in the UN Security Council for several months.

However, any efforts aimed at adopting a document on a sustainable ceasefire are blocked by the United States. As noted in the Foreign Ministry, the States take a politicized lopsided position on this issue, unfortunately, postponing the prospect of normalizing the situation.