Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced the US policy in the Middle East saying its actions are escalating the situation in the region.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon is evolving into a “major regional war” and criticized the United States for its “failed policy” on the Middle East.    

Zakharova said at a press conference in Moscow, that the US’s “failed policy” is the reason behind the current escalation, since Washington deters the work of the United Nations Security Council by vetoing resolutions that request Israel to stop its war on Gaza.

The spokeswoman added that the US’ continuous supply to Israel of weapons, ammunition, and intelligence does not help either as Washington must “perfectly realize that this will not lead to a settlement,” Anadolu news agency reported.

The aftermath of Israeli airstrikes in the San Terez area in Beirut. pic.twitter.com/tn1KQPYquF

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) October 3, 2024

The spokeswoman noted nonetheless that the United Nations has the potential to put a halt to this conflict.

“If we speak about the UN’s potential, it has it. The unprecedented bloodshed that has been going on for almost a year in the Arab-Israeli conflict zone, which is escalating into a major regional war, requires a consolidated response from the international community. Where else but at the UN should this reaction be worked out,” she said in response to a question by Anadolu.

Zakharova revealed that there is wide consensus regarding the Palestinian cause at the General Assembly, signaling the US and Israel for always blocking any de-escalation efforts. 

“We have repeatedly noted that the Hamas attacks on October 7 deserve every condemnation, but a year later we see that it has become an occasion, literally a pretext for collective punishment not only of Palestinians in Gaza, where millions of Palestinians are being punished, tens of thousands of whom are already dead, but now also Lebanese, Syrians, Yemenis,” the spokesperson was quoted by Anadolu as saying.

Zakharova revealed that the Russian Foreign Sergey Lavrov met earlier in the day with ambassadors of Arab countries in an urgent meeting they requested pointing out that the diplomats spoke “with horror” of the current situation “not because of panic or fear,” but due to their understanding and analysis of the potential consequences, according to Anadolu.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman added that many countries in the region including Egypt and Jordan were pushed to the forefront of the conflict.

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Highest Human Cost

On the human cost of the war, Zakharova said that the large number of humanitarian aid workers killed during the war, which stands at 300, is “the largest loss of humanitarian workers in one conflict in modern history.”

Zakharova made the comparison between the death toll in Palestine and Ukraine stressing that Palestinians killed and injured in the Gaza Strip “has long been more than twice the number of victims of the crisis in Ukraine in 10 years.”

“Is it fair to pronounce these numbers? As a human being, I don’t think that’s fair. But we are engaged in discussing political issues that are constantly referred to in international organizations by Westerners, primarily the US. If people in Ukraine are important to them, then other people should be important too?” she questioned.

The spokesperson added: “In this case, we are dealing with the number of victims that is already unprecedented in modern history. And those people were killed not in some kind of natural disaster, when the earth opened up and the city left, leaving only ruins, as was the case with the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye. We are dealing exclusively with man-made, criminal incitement of the crisis.”

Zakharova vowed that her country will continue to exert all efforts at the Security Council and the UN General Assembly, to de-escalate the situation and achieve a lasting peace on the basis of a two-state solution.

(PC, Anadolu)