UNITED NATIONS, July 17. /TASS/. Russia supports Palestine’s accession to the United Nations, almost 150 states have already recognized its independence, Chairman of the UN Security Council, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, speaking at the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, which includes the Palestinian issue.
"In 1949, we supported Israel’s UN membership application - under the condition of implementation of UN General Assembly Resolutions 181 and 194 regarding the right of Palestinian refugees for repatriation. This was said clearly when we voted in favor of Israel’s accession to the UN. Similarly, today, we support the accession of Palestine, whose sovereignty has been recognized by almost 150 countries, to the global organization," the minister said.
Lavrov pointed out that Russia defends a position, based on international law, within various international formats for settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the Middle Eastern conflict in general.
"We proceed from the imperative of implementation of UN decisions, including the abovementioned General Assembly resolutions and the key Security Council resolutions - number 242 and 338 - adopted after the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, as well as resolutions number 478 and 497 regarding the status of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights," he added.