OREANDA-NEWS. December 29, 2008. A telephone conversation between Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel Tzipi Livni took place at the Israeli side’s initiative.

The conversation was fully dedicated to the situation in the Gaza Strip. There was reaffirmed on our side the position of Russia in favor of an immediate cessation of military actions in Gaza, which have already led to numerous casualties among Palestinians. The necessity was stressed of restoring the lull regime, which would enable assuring the safety of the civilian population in southern Israel. The Russian side also noted the importance of allowing humanitarian cargoes into Gaza.