Russia slams US envoy's statement on Gaza at UN

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday slammed U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley's statement on Israeli killings of unarmed Palestinian protesters in Gaza, terming them "blasphemous".

Dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed during the protests, including children who had no relation to Hamas which Haley claimed was responsible for recent incidents in Gaza.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Lavrov said: "This is a blasphemous statement, which is intended to divert from an honest, serious conversation on the core of the problems that tear the Middle East region apart and do not let to execute the decisions of the UN General Assembly about the creation of Palestinian state."

He also said the question of the Palestine state cannot be subjected to unilateral decisions, it must be solved through a direct dialogue between Israel and Palestine.

"The absence of a decision on the Israeli-Palestinian problem has been for decades one of the most serious factors of creating breeding ground for recruiting the youth to the extremists' organizations."

Russia is deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza which is practically besieged, where there is a severe lack of living essentials, food and humanitarian items, the foreign minister said, adding that Russia is ready to provide any assistance to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 62 Palestinian demonstrators have been martyred and thousands of others were wounded by Israeli gunfire in one of the deadliest single-day massacres in the country's history.

Haley, speaking at the emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, which was held on the request of Kuwait over Israeli deadly violence at Gaza border, claimed Israel had "exercised restraint" on that day and went on to blame Iran for its alleged support for Hamas.