Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the US of impeding UN Security Council resolutions on a Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
After speaking with his Egyptian counterpart on Monday, Lavrov said that Russia welcomed ‘any steps to stop the bloodshed’, alleging that the US ‘does not want to pass any decisions’ that would lead to this.
Lavrov described the U.S.-sponsored resolution endorsing a ceasefire plan as an ’empty piece of paper’, adding that Russia abstained from the vote on the resolution. ‘No promises of the United States were fulfilled’, Lavrov said.
A one-week truce in November resulted in scores of hostages held by Hamas being released. But since then, attempts to secure an agreement have repeatedly stalled, with Israel and Hamas accusing one another of making new and unreasonable demands.
Hamas is pushing for a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stood firm in his stance that troops must remain on the Philadelphi corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border.