Russia to Actively Participate in Gaza Reconstruction Works: Deputy Foreign Minister

CAIRO, October 12 (RIA Novosti) - The international community must help rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip and Russia will be actively involved in the reconstruction works, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Sunday.

“The task of the international community, and Russia is actively involved in this, is to help Palestinians as quickly and efficiently as possible to rebuild the Gaza strip,” Bogdanov stated.

“We are supplying our products there, and of course there are opportunities to expand training of personnel required [to work] in Gaza. Our humanitarian assistance in different fields is provided [to Gaza] with the help of the Emergencies Ministry and our various public organizations. This work is ongoing and will continue,” he added.

Bogdanov, who also serves as Russia’s special presidential envoy for the Middle East, has arrived to the Egyptian capital to participate in a conference on the reconstruction of the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

According to the Russian deputy minister, efforts to rebuild the Palestinian exclave will be pointless without a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

“We need a political settlement, negotiations. They should be carried out on a clear and understandable basis of international law, because in the end everyone agrees that there can only be a two-state solution, i.e. the establishment of a Palestinian state, which is to exist side by side with its neighbors in peace and security,” Bogdanov said.

An international conference on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip began Sunday in Cairo. Representatives of over 50 donor countries are to take part in the talks.

According to earlier media reports, President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas is to ask the international community for a contribution of $4 billion to help rebuild the Gaza Strip, which has suffered great damage as a result of a military offensive carried out by Israel during the summer.

Palestinian authorities have estimated that over 60,000 residential buildings and over 5,000 businesses and commercial establishments were ruined in the armed conflict, which lasted for 50 days and claimed the lives of over 2,100 people.