Israel launched a major military offensive in Gaza on December 27 in a bid to put an end to rocket attacks on Israeli territories from the Hamas-controlled enclave. Since the beginning of the operation, over 1,100 Palestinians have been killed, more than half of them civilians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
"The initiative that our Egyptian colleagues have proposed and continue promoting is optimal, and we believe everything possible should be done to support it," Sergei Lavrov said.
"This is the point of the signals we are sending to Hamas and the countries that have an influence over Hamas, primarily Syria and Iran," Sergei Lavrov said during a news conference.
The Egyptian initiative to end the bloodshed in Gaza includes a temporary ceasefire, meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials, and the resumption of Palestinian reconciliation talks between the radical Islamic movement Hamas and Fatah, which controls the West Bank.
The plan also allows for the resumption of a stable flow of humanitarian aid to the impoverished Palestinian enclave, home to 1.5 million people.
The minister also reiterated Russia's earlier proposal to hold a conference in Moscow on the Middle East peace process.
"I believe the initiative on a conference in Moscow, supported by the international quartet of intermediaries and a UN Security Council resolution, has not only remained topical but is probably more relevant now," Lavrov said.
He suggested that Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, represent the Palestinians at the talks.
