Russia believes that granting Palestine membership in the United Nations (UN) would facilitate equal negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, according to Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia, who spoke to Sputnik.
“We are convinced that Palestine’s membership in the UN would help launch an equal negotiation process between Palestinians and Israelis on a set of final status issues, the outcome of which would be the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem, coexisting in peace and security with Israel under approved international legal decisions,” Nebenzia stated.
Nebenzia reminded that the US had previously vetoed a resolution recommending Palestine‘s admission to the UN General Assembly and had threatened to veto it again if reconsidered.
“The Americans believe that the issues of recognizing Palestine and its admission to the UN should be resolved in direct negotiations with Israel,” Nebenzia said.
He added: “At the same time, the US itself “torpedoed” them, imposing unilateral approaches, bypassing the universally recognized international legal basis with the internationally approved formula of “two states”.”
Despite the US stance, Nebenzia noted that it is gaining less understanding globally, especially in light of the ongoing violence in Gaza.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza linked to the release of all remaining hostages cannot come too soon.
Speaking in Jordan at an international conference prompted by the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, Mr. Guterres insisted that after more than eight months of intense hostilities, “the horror must stop.”
