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Lavrov says US efforts won’t lead to establishment of Palestinian state

The top Russian diplomat reiterated that it was the US that put a stop to the Quartet of international mediators, which also included Russia, the EU and the UN

ANTALYA, March 1. /TASS/. Efforts made by the US won’t lead to the establishment of the Palestinian state, but will leave in place the status quo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a diplomatic conference in Antalya.

He said the US has been engaged in backdoor talks.

These talks "will result in yet another sham, and no Palestinian state will emerge. All that will happen will be some nice announcement, for example, that Palestine will be given UN membership, while things on the ground will remain exactly the same. It will be a beautiful picture, but the status quo isn’t changing," he said.

Lavrov reiterated that it was the US that put a stop to the Quartet of international mediators, which also included Russia, the EU and the UN.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7. Israel started carrying out strikes on Gaza parts of Lebanon and Syria. A truce was established November 24, but the Israeli military on December 1 accused Hamas of violating it and announced that it was resuming fighting. Palestine blamed the US for the renewed Israeli aggression.

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Foreign policy Sergey Lavrov

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