US yet to respond to Moscow’s $1 billion proposal for Gaza aid, says FM

Russia has sent the United States an official note agreeing to use $1 billion of frozen Russian assets to finance Gaza’s reconstruction, but no response has been received from Washington so far, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated.

In an interview with Al Arabiya, Lavrov added that Russia is ready to participate in the Board of Peace for Gaza, an international forum where participating countries have pledged $5 billion for the region’s recovery following military destruction and humanitarian crisis. 

“We don’t want our money to go toward anything that isn’t related to meeting the basic needs of civilians, such as building housing, clinics, schools, and so on. It was just announced that on February 19 in Washington, a Board of Peace meeting will take place, and countries have pledged five billion dollars,” the FM said

He expressed hope that part of this funding, specifically $1 billion, would come from Russia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed the initiative’s goal of supporting sustainable reconstruction and peace in Gaza.

By Jeyhun Aghazada