MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. Russia supports the US administration's plan for a settlement in the Gaza Strip, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"Since the first days of the Gaza crisis escalation, the Russian Federation has consistently defended the civilian population together with its international partners. We have developed and submitted to the UN Security Council a number of resolutions calling for a ceasefire and guaranteeing the unhindered delivery of humanitarian supplies to all those affected. Unfortunately, these initiatives were blocked by the Western camp. The main goal in the current conditions remains the cessation of violence and prevention of further civilian casualties. Based on this position, we support the US administration's plan for Gaza, which includes a ceasefire, the release of detainees, and a full-scale restoration of humanitarian access," she told a news briefing.

Zakharova said that it is extremely important that the document proposed by the United States be implemented. "We are convinced that the root cause of the tragic events both in Gaza and in the West Bank of the Jordan River is the deprivation of the sovereign right of the Palestinian people to control their fate. The only solution capable of ensuring lasting peace for all the peoples of the Middle East has been and remains the achievement of a comprehensive long-term settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on a valid international legal basis based on the principle of two states. Otherwise, there will be no peace in the Middle East, this is also obvious. Gross violations of the rights of the Palestinian people, if it can still be called that, given the scale of the tragedy, will only fuel extremist tendencies in all countries of the region."

Zakharova also noted that the situation in the Middle East remains extremely difficult.

"First of all, we are talking about the situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation. Since the beginning of October 2023, since the beginning of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, the number of Palestinian deaths has exceeded 67,000, and more than 170,000 have been injured. According to available information, up to 90% of the civilian infrastructure has been almost completely destroyed," the diplomat said.

Trump's plan for a settlement in Gaza

On September 29, the White House released President Donald Trump’s "comprehensive plan" aimed at resolving the conflict in the Gaza Strip. The 20 paragraph-document provides for the introduction of temporary external control in the Palestinian enclave and the deployment of an international stabilization force there. Israel agreed with the plan. The Palestinian Hamas movement said it was ready to release all living Israeli hostages held in Gaza and hand over the bodies of the dead.

On October 6, indirect talks between the Israeli and Hamas delegations resumed mediated by Egypt and Qatar. The United States is represented by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner.