Afrasiianet - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Israel is imposing impossible conditions in return for mediators' initiatives on Gaza, noting that the Middle East is on the brink of a major regional war.

Lavrov added – during the meeting of the strategic dialogue between the Gulf countries and Russia held in the Saudi capital Riyadh – that the initiatives presented at the United Nations, including the Russian initiative, were stopped, and that the plan of US President Joe Biden is ignored by Israel.

Lavrov warned that "the Middle East is once again on the brink of a major regional war, and it is our common responsibility to prevent this."

"Russia is working with all parties in this regard," he said, noting that "without solving the Palestinian-Israeli problem, the Middle East will not be able to develop stablely."

"The inability of the international community to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip has led to a sharp deterioration in the military-political situation throughout the Middle East, from the borders of Lebanon and Israel to the Red Sea, and at the same time the confrontation between Israel and Iran has reached a new dangerous level," Lavrov noted.

He pointed out that the international community has failed to stop the aggression and killing in Gaza, stressing that "the current violence against Palestinians is unprecedented, and has not been witnessed in any of the Arab-Israeli wars."

He explained that "the United States of America was the reason for obstructing all resolutions of international legitimacy for a ceasefire in Gaza," stressing that "Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council are making all efforts to reach a ceasefire and establish an independent Palestinian state on the basis of resolutions of international legitimacy."

The Russian Foreign Minister stressed that the establishment of a Palestinian state is the basis for achieving a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, adding that there is no real peace unless this issue is resolved.

With US support, Israel has been waging a war on Gaza since October 7, which has resulted in more than 135,000 Palestinian martyrs and injuries, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children.