Iran Press/Middle East: Russia’s envoy to Israel Anatoly Viktorov said that Tuesday it is the Jewish state’s conflict with the Palestinians and other Arab entities that is destabilizing the Middle East, not Iran.
Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov also accused Israel of being an aggressor for attacking arms shipments to Hezbollah and questioned whether tunnels found under the Israel-Lebanon border were dug by the Lebanese organization.
He also added: “The problem in the region is not Iranian activities, It’s a lack of understanding between countries and non-compliance with UN resolutions in the Israel-Arab and Israel-Palestinian conflict.”
Referring to airstrikes in Syria by Israel that have targeted Iranian military positions and arms convoys heading to Hezbollah, Viktorov said Israel is causing the violence.
“Israel is attacking Hezbollah, Hezbollah is not attacking Israel,” he said, adding that Israel should not attack “the territories of sovereign UN members.”
Viktorov also rejected the idea that Israel coordinates such attacks with Russia, saying any warning Jerusalem gives Moscow on such attacks is about the safety of Russian forces in Syria.
“There is no way that we are approving any Israeli strikes on Syria, never in the past and never in the future,” he stressed.
Regarding tunnels found by the Israel Defense Forces last year under the northern border and which the IDF said were dug by Hezbollah in preparation for a major future assault on the country, Viktorov said there was “no proof Hezbollah created the tunnels.”
US withdrawal of JCPOA was unfortunate
Viktorov also blamed the US for the unraveling of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that removed Iran's sanctions in return for the dismantling of its nuclear program.
Viktorov said it was “unfortunate” that the US exited the so-called (JCPOA), Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and added that this was what had led Iran to begin dropping its own commitments to the deal. This, he said, was also “unfortunate.”
On a more positive note, he said Russia supports the recent US-brokered normalization deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as the moves towards a similar agreement with Sudan.
But he said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must still be addressed to reach a two-state solution.
“We strongly believe that the Palestinian question should not be put aside,” he said. “The normalization should not replace a Palestinian-Israeli settlement because this problem will remain and will continue to endanger not only the countries and peoples of the region but also many others around the globe,” he said.
Viktorov reiterated Russia’s offer to host Israeli-Palestinian talks in Moscow.
On May 8, 2018, the outgoing US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in violation of Washington's international commitments, declaring the return of nuclear sanctions on Iran.
Trump's move has been widely condemned in domestic and international arenas.
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