Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded to a question why Russia is not participating in the summit, which is taking place in Egypt amid a peace agreement on the Gaza Strip.
“Invitations were sent by the hosts of the summit. This is the Egyptian leadership, which reportedly coordinated its actions with other Arab initiators, but above all with the United States,” the Russian official said, specifying that the prime minister of Iraq was “not invited to Sharm el-Sheikh either, although Iraq is the head of the Arab League at the moment.”
Earlier on 13 October, Hamas, a group recognised as a terrorist group in the EU and the US, released all 20 living Israeli hostages on 13 October.
In the evening, a summit with more than 20 world leaders will be held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh to mark the end of the war in Gaza.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the signing of an agreement to end the war, due to take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, “will be a historic milestone”.
Agreement on the first phase of the peace plan, previously proposed by United States President Donald Trump, was reached last week in Egypt in indirect talks between Israel and the Hamas group, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
In return for the Israeli withdrawal from a number of positions in the Gaza Strip, Hamas promised to release all living hostages and hand over dead bodies.
In exchange, Israel is to release some 250 Palestinians sentenced to life terms and some 1,700 others who have been detained since the outbreak of the Gaza war.