SIRIUS /Federal territory/, March 5. /TASS/. Israel has made a mistake by following the path imposed on it by the United States, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a session of the World Youth Festival, responding to a question on the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"The fact that people in the region, especially Israeli politicians, perceive and follow the path imposed on them by the 'exceptionalists' - the US - has exacerbated and brought closer this catastrophic situation in the region, given it an eerie momentum, provoked it," she said.

"The US did everything to destroy the 'quartet' of international mediators on the Middle East - Russia, the US, the UN, and the EU," the diplomat continued. "The US did everything to prevent international law from being realized in this region." Zakharova also emphasized that the US "sponsored Hamas and did everything to break Palestinian unity."

The diplomat drew attention to the fact that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has repeatedly urged Western leaders to settle the conflict in the Middle East and warned that it might be too late.

The World Youth Festival is taking place in the Sirius Federal Territory in far southern Russia on March 1-7, 2024. More than 300,000 people from 190 countries have applied to take part. Participants in the festival’s regional program will visit 30 Russian cities on March 10-17. TASS is the event’s general information partner.