MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. The Lebanese-Israeli conflict may be protracted, and Beirut counts on Russian humanitarian aid, Lebanese Ambassador to Russia Shawki Bou Nassar said in an interview with TASS.

Earlier, the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s Il-76 aircraft delivered 33 metric tons of humanitarian cargo, including food, medicines, basic necessities and 80 kW power stations, to Beirut. The flight was carried out based on orders from the Russian government and at Lebanon’s request.

"I thank [Russian Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail] Bogdanov for the Russian initiative and we hope that this plane will be followed with more planes, because unfortunately it seems that the war will take long before it could be ended, and I think we expect more [people] displaced and consequently more needs for humanitarian aid from the friendly countries and from Russia," the diplomat said.

Thus, Nassar noted that on October 1 he had a long meeting with Bogdanov and called the latter "a good friend of Lebanon." The ambassador explained that during these talks the sides discussed the dispatch of Russia’s first humanitarian cargo delivered by the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s aircraft. "I understood that these are the necessary items that could be useful to the displaced people, including medical supplies, which are badly needed in Lebanon these days. And that's why the Lebanese government asked all the friendly countries to step in and support in this regard," Shawki Bou Nassar said.

"He [Bogdanov] was following the fights of the Middle East in general for decades. That's why he has great experience in this regard. I met him and we discussed the dangerous development and the dangerous Israeli escalation against Lebanon and he assured me about the Russian support to Lebanon and the Russian denunciation of the Israeli act in Lebanon," the ambassador added. He said that during contacts with Israeli officials, Russian representatives urged Israel to stop the bloodshed, and emphasized that Lebanon appreciates such a position of Russia and its support provided.

"This morning we had a meeting with a group of Arab Ambassadors, I attended it as the Dean of Arab Ambassadors, and there were some of my colleagues. We met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov [who was there] with the presence of his deputy Mikhail Bogdanov. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also was there, in addition to some officials from the Russian Middle East Department. We discussed the same issue - Israeli aggression in Gaza, [the conflict in] the West Bank and in Lebanon. Lavrov reassured me about the Russian support to Lebanon and to the Arab cause. He stressed the need to reach a political solution because Russia believes that the military operation will not lead by any means to stability and security in the region, not for Israel or any other party," the diplomat said. He expressed hope that a political solution to the conflict may soon be reached with the efforts of Russia and other international partners.

On the situation in Lebanon

On September 23, Israel launched Operation Northern Arrows against the Lebanon-based Hezbollah Shia movement, carrying out massive airstrikes on its military targets. The stated goal is to create safe conditions for the return of local residents to Israel’s northern border areas. A September 27 strike on Beirut killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The Israeli army announced the start of a ground operation in the border areas of southern Lebanon in the early hours of October 1.