Russian foreign minister meets with Iranian, Lebanese counterparts in New York

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and Yemen with his Iranian and Lebanese counterparts ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East.

A Foreign Ministry statement said both meetings took place Monday night on the sidelines of a Security Council open debate on the Middle East in New York.

With Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Lavrov spoke about an early cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, pummeled by over three months of Israeli attacks, and ensuring conditions for humanitarian assistance be provided to residents of the Palestinian enclave.

Lavrov and Amir Abdollahian also voiced concern on situation in the Red Sea, "which has sharply deteriorated as a result of irresponsible military actions by the US and a number of states that joined them against Yemen."

Meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Lavrov emphasized that other countries must not get involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly Lebanon.

Lavrov also reiterated Russia's position in support of the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the country, where cross-border strikes with Israeli forces have claimed the lives of 30 civilians, along with an army soldier and 165 members of the Hezbollah group.

The Russian foreign minister underscored the need to "find consensus solutions to issues on the national agenda as soon as possible by the Lebanese themselves, without external interference."

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 25,295 Palestinians and injuring 63,000. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza's population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.