Moscow sends foreign minister to W Asia, evacuates Russians

Moscow, July 18 (UNI) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is today sending his Deputy Alexander Saltanov to West Asia to search for ways to end bloodshed and violence between Israel and Lebanon as well as between Israel and Palestine.

''Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov will travel to west Asia today on Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's instruction,'' Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

''Mr Saltanov's talks with regional leaders will focus on the search for ways to put an early end to the bloodshed and violence, prevent further escalation of tensions between Israel and Lebanon as well as between Israel and the Palestine National Authority (PNA) and to bring the situation back on track of political-diplomatic settlement,'' the statement said.

Russia has already evacuated most of its citizens from Palestine territory and has been working on the evacuation of Russians from Lebanon, the statement added.

A Russian plane carrying 36 Russian citizens, including 25 children, evacuated from Palestine landed in Moscow today, a spokesman for the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry told RIA Novosti news agency. They were moved out of Palestinian territory via Jordan amid an escalation of violence in West Asia, the spokesman added.

The evacuation of Russian citizens from Lebanon would start today and will be completed by tomorrow, the spokesman said.

According to the Russian Embassy in Beirut, more than 1,500 Russians currently reside in Lebanon. Most Russians will leave Lebanon, which has been bombed by Israel since last week, on July 19, the Foreign Ministry said.

''About one thousand people will travel to the Lebanese-Syrian border, further on via Syria to the international airport in Latakia. There they will take a Russian Emergency Situations Ministry plane to Moscow,'' the ministry said.

The Russian Embassy had coordinated routes with Israeli authorities, which promised to stop military operations in the area during the evacuation, it added.

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