Lavrov announces US-Russia embassy talks set for Istanbul on Feb. 27

A meeting between representatives of Russia and the United States regarding embassy operations will take place on Thursday, February 27, in Istanbul.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made this announcement during a press conference following his visit to Qatar, Caliber.Az reports, referring to Turkish media.

Lavrov also expressed concern over the actions of the Israeli army, stating that these actions contradict resolutions of the UN Security Council and agreements made with both the Palestinian Hamas movement and Lebanon.

“We are very concerned that with each passing day, the Israeli army is taking additional steps that are not stipulated by the agreements with Hamas and with Lebanon and that, in general, create facts on the ground that contradict the agreements and contradict the UN Security Council resolutions on both Palestinian affairs and the Lebanese problem,” Lavrov said.

In addition, Lavrov described attempts to replace the establishment of a Palestinian state with the resettlement of Palestinians across the region as a “time bomb.”

“If attempts are made to ‘scuttle’ UN Security Council decisions and replace the establishment of a Palestinian state with the resettlement of Palestinians across the region, this will only lay a time bomb, as it has happened many times over the many years of ignoring the demands for a two-state solution,” he stated.

Lavrov also commented on the proposal for deploying European peacekeepers in Ukraine, emphasizing that Russia is not considering such options.

“We cannot consider any options. I don't know what [French President Emmanuel] Macron said there [on the deployment of European peacekeepers in Ukraine], he played his role not very convincingly in Washington, but [US President Donald] Trump, when this topic was raised at the press conference, as I read, said that the decision to deploy peacekeeping forces is possible only with the consent of both sides, apparently referring to us and Ukraine. No one is asking us about this,” Lavrov emphasized.

By Tamilla Hasanova