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West uses Ukraine to shift global community focus from Palestine — Russian top diplomat

Sergey Lavrov stressed that it is also one of the most critical global challenges

MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/. Western countries are attempting to use the Ukrainian conflict to distract global attention from the Palestinian issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during an embassy roundtable on Ukraine’s resolution.

"We appreciate the keen interest you show in our position on the Ukrainian issue and international affairs in general, but this roundtable is traditionally devoted specifically to the crisis the West has created around Ukraine, by turning it into an anti-Russia state and arming it to wage war against our country. Of course, this is one of the most pressing issues on the international agenda, although, frankly, we see attempts to exploit the intensity of the debate around Ukraine, including at international forums, to divert attention from other, no less - and perhaps even more - critical global challenges, in particular, the Palestinian issue," the Russian top diplomat said.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing residents of border settlements and taking more than 250 hostages. In response, Israel initiated a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to dismantle Hamas' military and political structures and free all hostages. According to the latest data from the Gaza Health Ministry, the enclave’s death toll from the military operations has risen to roughly 70,000, and over 171,000 people have suffered injuries.

Israel and Hamas resumed Egypt-, Qatar-, United States-, and Turkey-mediated indirect talks on settling the situation in the Gaza Strip on October 6, 2025. On October 9, the parties to the conflict signed an agreement on the implementation of phase one of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. The ceasefire came into effect on October 10.

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Foreign policy Ukraine Sergey Lavrov Palestine

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