Ambassador: Russia continues to play a role in resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Russian government has reaffirmed its commitment to continue playing a role in resolving the Middle East conflict, particularly between Israel and Palestine, said the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Indonesia, Sergei Tolchenov.

“We still want to play a role in the Middle East. We support the idea of resolving the crisis and the Israel-Palestine issue. Of course, we support the establishment of that state [Palestine],” said Tolchenov during a press conference at his residence in Jakarta, Thursday (26/2).

He said that Russia has long recognised the State of Palestine and continues to push for a peaceful resolution to the conflict through various channels.

He explained that in addition to multilateral initiatives involving mechanisms such as the Gaza Peace Council (Board of Peace/BOP) and the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), which are said to aim to promote peace and channel humanitarian aid to Gaza, Russia is also taking a bilateral approach.

“Russia is trying to do it bilaterally. We have direct channels of discussion with Palestinian leaders,” he said.

Although various international initiatives are running separately, Tolchenov affirmed that the ultimate goal remains the same, namely to realise a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, living side by side peacefully.

“The BOP is there, Russia is there. But the most important thing is the ultimate goal of having two states in the Middle East, Israel and Palestine,” he said, reaffirming.