MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. Russia was among the first to send Israel the lists of individuals to be evacuated from Gaza but the approval process has been unnecessarily protracted, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Kinshchak said.
Commenting on Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Alexander Ben Zvi ‘s interview with Izvestia, the diplomat said: "On our part, from the very onset of the crisis, we have been doing everything possible to ensure unhindered passage of Russian nationals from the Gaza Strip, were among the first ones to prepare and send relevant lists to the Israeli side. However, their review process has been needlessly dragged out in our opinion."
"Foreign nationals and Gaza Strip residents with dual citizenship began to leave the territory as early as November 1. Priority passage was given to the citizens of the US, UK and a number of other countries, mainly Western ones, while the first group of Russian nationals managed to cross the border only on November 12," the diplomat pointed out.