A breakthrough in the Middle East peace process will not happen without a change in the US attitude towards the Gaza crisis, said Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia after the vote on the draft resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which Washington has again vetoed.
“Until Washington changes its perception of the Gaza crisis and until multilateral diplomacy in the UN is seen as an obstacle rather than a critical tool, there will be no breakthrough in the Middle East peace process“, the diplomat stressed.
Israel's strike against Doha has undermined claims about the Jewish state's readiness for diplomacy and deals, the Russian diplomat continued.
“The UN Security Council will continue to witness a catastrophe, paralyzed not by its own structural problems, but by the will, or rather the lack thereof, of a single delegation. We call on our American colleagues to recognize that their declared “quiet diplomacy on the ground“, as they say, is being undermined not by the strong voices of the international community, including within these walls, but by the concrete actions of Israel's ally, as clearly demonstrated by the aggressive attack by West Jerusalem on sovereign Qatar, one of the main mediators in the negotiation process. This was essentially a blow to the very idea of reaching agreements - it devalued any claims that Israel is ready for diplomacy and deals“, he stressed.
“The US is outrageously trying to use the visa issue to advance its own political interests. "We call on Washington to reconsider its decision to deny visas to members of the Palestinian delegation participating in the high-level week of the General Assembly," Nebenzia added.