MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. Those in Kiev who claim that Russia benefits from the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are "arch cynics," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the 60 Minutes program on the Rossiya-1 TV channel.

"These are out-and-out cynics. Their only goal is to not be forgotten, but they can be forgotten not because we want them to be forgotten, - we will continue solving our tasks, but because, unfortunately, there are other conflicts in the world, other crisis situations that the United States considers more important," Lavrov said, commenting on Kiev’s allegations that Russia benefits from what is happening in the Middle East.

The emergence of new crises in the world depends not on Russia, but on the "outstanding conflicts, primarily due to US policy," Lavrov noted.

"If the United States had facilitated the creation of a Palestinian state (which we advocated for based on UN Security Council resolutions), there would not be such tension in and around the Gaza Strip, or in the Middle East as a whole," the Russian Foreign Minister pointed out. "This is the result of yet another American adventure that we are witnessing now," he noted.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.