MOSCOW. Sept 20 (Interfax) - Russia urges a full ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and in the Palestinian territories as a whole, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
"But the foremost matter at this stage is for there to be a full-fledged ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and in the Palestinian territories in general. The urgent resolution of humanitarian issues and a resumption of aid [deliveries] in necessary quantities. And by all accounts, as a third requisite step, start a serious conversation about the creation of a Palestinian state," Lavrov said in an interview with the Sky News Arabia television channel.
"Without this, relapses into flare-ups of violence in the Middle East will not stop," he said.
Moscow is "opposed to any escalation," Lavrov said when commenting on the current situation in the Middle East, and in particular the recent pager blasts in Lebanon.
It is necessary for "two states, Israel and Palestine, [both] independent, sovereign, to co-exist as good neighbors in safety relative to one another, and as far as the whole region's security is concerned," he said.
Such an approach is "in the interests of both Israel and Palestine," he said.
"In any of our actions, we always stress that no solution will be viable unless it also takes into account the security interests of Israel, but not at the expense of others' security," Lavrov said.