Lavrov: Trump's plan for Gaza is the best we have

(Patria) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an interview published on Wednesday, said that US President Donald Trump's plan for peace in Gaza may have a general approach, but that for now it remains the best proposal "on the table", Reuters reported.

"US President Donald Trump proposed his twenty points which contain the word 'statehood'. But it is all formulated rather generally," Lavrov said for Russia Today television in an interview partially published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"In this context, the problem is only what will remain of the Gaza Strip. There is no reference to the West Bank. But we are realists. We understand that this is the best that is currently 'on the table'."

The plan, he said, is "the best option in terms of Arab acceptability and 'non-rejection' by Israel, which is how I would characterize Benjamin Netanyahu's stance."

The Kremlin has expressed support for Trump's plan since it was presented last week and said it hopes it can be implemented.

Russia has criticized Israeli military operations in Gaza over the past two years, while Moscow deepens relations with Israel's main rival, Iran. Moscow has long argued that a two-state solution is the only way to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.

Trump's plan calls for an international body led by Trump, which would include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, that would play a role in the post-war administration of Gaza.

Arab countries supporting the plan say it must lead to the eventual independence of a Palestinian state, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that will never happen.