Lavrov on Gaza and Hormuz UN plans and Islamabad deal

Jun 10, 1999

After questions about Trump's rejection of Iran's seven-day proposal and the unimplemented Gaza arrangements under Security Council resolution 2803, Lavrov criticizes what he regards as unfulfilled resolutions and Western hidden agendas. He recalls resolution 1244 on Kosovo and says its guarantees have not been observed. He then recalls the Quartet Road Map and a resolution intended to produce Palestinian statehood; on air he cannot remember its name and tentatively places it in the mid-1990s. His chronology and recollection remain attributed. Discussing resolution 2803, he says Russia and China abstained because the draft gave the UN no meaningful role, but Arab states and Palestinians asked them not to veto it. Returning explicitly to Iran, he describes the Islamabad memorandum signed at the highest level as a fair arrangement and asks why the parties cannot return to it. He does not equate the earlier memorandum with the newly rejected seven-day proposal or announce an accepted agreement, deployed force or reopened strait.

Lavrov recalls resolution 1244 as preserving Kosovo within Serbia and allowing a limited Serbian security presence. He says its provisions were ignored and a settlement was possible without unilateral independence. His criticism concerns implementation and does not establish legal repeal of the resolution.