Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says US President Donald Trump’s scheme to take over the besieged Gaza Strip would not resolve the long-standing Palestinian issue, but would rather be a “time bomb” in West Asia.
The top Russian diplomat said in a press conference during an official visit to Qatar on Wednesday that attempts to undermine the UN Security Council decisions and replace the creation of a Palestinian state with the relocation of the Palestinians in the region will have negative consequences.
Lavrov was in Doha to meet with Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
“The creation of a Palestinian State is the key issue, and if there are attempts to undermine those Security Council decisions and substitute the establishment of a Palestinian State with the resettlement of Palestinians throughout the region, that will only set off a time bomb," he said.
Lavrov said there have been similar outcomes “so many times over the long decades of ignoring the demands for a two-state solution.”
He said Russia is also concerned by Israel’s actions that place barriers on the path to a peace deal in the region.
Trump has proposed displacing Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries.
The US special envoy to West Asia, Steve Witkoff, said on Tuesday that a summit will soon be held with real estate developers and planners from the region to discuss the controversial plan for Gaza.
“We’re going to conduct a summit pretty soon with probably the biggest developers in the Middle East region, many of the Arab developers — lots of master planners,” Witkoff said at an event in Washington on Tuesday.
“I think when people see some of the ideas that come from this, they’re going to be amazed.”
The US president unveiled the vicious scheme during a White House news conference in early February with the visiting Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli minister of military affairs Israel Katz has ordered the regime’s military to prepare a plan that would force the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Trump’s plan has already sparked international condemnation. It has faced resounding rejection among Palestinians, West Asian leaders, and governments around the world.
Palestinians have denounced the scheme as a “declaration of war.”