Russian foreign minister puts forth idea of UN-led forum to study old conflicts
NEW YORK (UN). Sept 25 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has proposed establishing a forum under the aegis of the United Nations that will study terrorism-related problems.
"We suggest convening a representative forum under the aegis of the UN that will involve countries of the region, the African Union, the Arab League, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and other parties concerned. The agenda of this forum should touch upon old conflicts, the main of which is the Arab-Israeli one," Lavrov said in the UN Security Council.
"It is widely believed that failure to find a solution to the Palestinian issue for many decades is one of the key reasons allowing terrorists to receiving "moral support" and recruit more new members to their ranks," the Russian minister said.
"We call on all people to look at the deep roots of the regional problems and avoid reacting exclusively to their symptoms. We will be ready to cooperate on an equal basis, starting with a joint honest analysis of the situation," he said.
"We supported the initiative of the American presidency in the [UN] Security Council to adopt a resolution aimed at "cutting off the oxygen" to any activity of foreign militants and terrorists. At the same time, we would like to warn against the temptation to narrow this problem because the Islamic State with its inhuman ideology and disgusting executions of journalists is far from being the only threat to the region," Lavrov said.
