23 January 2025
Mr. Minister,
We welcome your participation in today’s briefing as President of the UN Security Council. We thank the Secretary General of the League of Arab States (LAS) Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari for their assessments and insights.
Russia has consistently advocated scaling up the cooperation between the UN and the LAS. Both organizations pursue the same goals of ensuring peace and security both globally and regionally. We are also guided by the long-standing ties of friendship and brotherly relations that bind us with the Arab world.
Over the past year, many states in the Middle East have unfortunately been affected by the turbulence that was triggered primarily by the sharp escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This escalation was followed by Israel’s full-scale war against Lebanon, dramatic developments in Syria, and intense exchanges of fire between Ansar Allah and the Anglo-Saxon coalition. Hotbeds of instability also persist in North Africa – in Western Sahara, Libya and Sudan. The difficult socio-economic situation in a number of Arab countries is stirring up radical sentiments and manifestations of extremism and terrorism.
In this extremely charged atmosphere, hopes for the normalization of the situation in the region are borne by the agreements of early January reached with the mediation of two LAS member States between Hamas and Jerusalem on a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages and detainees. We do believe that the LAS can and should play a significant role in facilitating those agreements, as well as in harmonizing efforts of Arab countries to provide post-conflict assistance to the Palestinian people. It is important that a just solution of the Palestinian question be not left out of any models for normalization in the region proposed by non-regional mediators, because otherwise relapses into violence – such as the one we have witnessed over the past 15 months – will be inevitable.
For our side, we will monitor the implementation of the deal between Israel and Hamas, and support any initiatives geared to establishing an unconditional and comprehensive ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone, ensuring safe and unimpeded humanitarian access, and relaunching negotiations on a universally recognized international legal basis, including decisions of the UNSC and the UNGA.
In this regard, we note with concern that only two days after the agreement entered into force, the IDF started a large-scale military operation in Jenin in the West Bank. In the first 24 hours alone, 10 Palestinians were killed and at least 35 people were injured. We are also alarmed by the attack in Tel Aviv that injured four Israelis. We would urge the parties to refrain from any aggressive actions and provocations that could derail the implementation of the agreements reached.
Mr. President,
Russia remains committed to further gradual strengthening of the multilevel cooperation between the LAS and the UN, pursuant to Chapter VIII of the UN Charter. Of particular importance is cooperation regarding collective security, countering new challenges, and crises settlement in the region. The Arab countries have first-hand knowledge of the problems of their region. Using their invaluable experience would facilitate the peaceful resolution of problems and disputes, without external interference, and with due regard to the interests of all parties involved and on the basis of the provisions and norms of international law.
The UN Liaison Office to the LAS set up in 2019 in Cairo is an effective channel for such cooperation. We welcome the annual informal meetings of the UNSC with LAS Council members – they provide a platform to review crisis situations in the region and discuss possible joint efforts on early warning. We support further fruitful dialogue between the League and UNSG’s Special Representatives and Special Envoys in the Arab region to address crises and seek joint measures to resolve them. Given the unbroken bonds between the regions, we deem it expedient to expand trilateral cooperation between the UN, the LAS and the African Union.
We are convinced that the key to a long-term and sustainable settlement of the crises in the Middle East and North Africa region is reaching collective agreements without imposing any cookie-cutter solutions from abroad. The joint position of the LAS on Gaza helped to create the much-needed international climate for reaching agreements between Israel and Hamas.
In conclusion, we would like to express our willingness to do all that we can to facilitate the normalization of the situation in the region, both in our national capacity and within collective formats, inter alia through co-operation between the LAS and the United Nations. Russia will continue to strengthen partnership and cooperation with the LAS on pressing international and regional issues. We will also further champion coordination between the UN and the LAS.
Thank you.