Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that US President Donald Trump’s plan regarding Gaza is currently the optimal solution to end the conflict in terms of acceptance by Arabs and non-rejection by Israel.

Lavrov said in an interview on the “Newsmaker” program on RT: “President Donald Trump proposed his ‘twenty points’ which mention the word ‘state’. But all of this was formulated somewhat generally. In this context, it only concerns what will remain of the Gaza Strip, as the West Bank is not mentioned in this context.”

He added: “But we are realistic and understand that this is the best currently ‘on the table’. At least it is the best in terms of Arab acceptance and Israel’s ‘non-rejection’, and this is how I would describe the position of (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu.”

The minister pointed out that “the total number of deaths in the Gaza Strip, according to official data only, reached 65,000 people over two years. The vast majority are civilians, women, children, elderly. 170,000 people were injured, and hundreds of thousands were deprived of shelter.”

Lavrov continued: “We strongly condemn the attack carried out by Hamas two years ago on October 7, 2023, against civilians; this is a crime. But collective punishment of the entire Palestinian people for such attacks is also a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”

He stressed that “the failure to resolve the Palestinian issue for nearly 80 years is the main factor fueling extremism in the Middle East,” affirming that “our Western colleagues must bear their share of responsibility for the key role they played in obstructing decisions to establish an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”

Since Monday, indirect negotiations have been underway in Egypt between delegations of Hamas and Israel, with mediation from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, regarding the peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump to end the two-year war in Gaza.

Trump’s Gaza settlement plan, revealed on September 29, includes 20 points and calls for an immediate ceasefire conditioned on the release of prisoners within 72 hours.

The document also proposes that Hamas and other Palestinian factions refrain from participating in the administration of Gaza, either directly or indirectly – control should transfer to a technocratic government under international supervision led by Trump himself.