Lavrov Praises Trump’s Gaza Plan As ‘Best Option That Exists’

Russia has just issued surprisingly glowing praise of President Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, the fine points of which are currently being intensely negotiated over in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday made clear Russia’s view that Trump’s roadmap for the settlement of the crisis in the Gaza Strip is currently the best option that exists in terms of its acceptability for Arab countries and “non-rejection” of the plan by Israel, according to the quote as carried in state media.

“US President Donald Trump has proposed his ’20 points,’ which mention the word ‘statehood.’ But all this is formulated quite generally. In this context, we are talking only about what remains of the Gaza Strip. The West Bank is not mentioned in this context,” Lavrov began in an interview for “Bridges to the East” project.

“But we are realists. We understand that this is the best thing on the table right now,” the top diplomat continued. He went on: “At least, the best from the point of view of acceptability for Arab states, ‘non-rejection’ by Israel, and that is how I would characterize the position of [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu.”

Lavrov did take an indirect swipe at Israel, however, condemning the “collective punishment” of the entire Palestinian people for what Hams did on October 7, describing this as a “gross violation of the international humanitarian law.”

As it stands, even if the sides reach an agreement for a hostage/prisoner swap – which constitutes the first stage of the deal – there will be a lot of contention over the subsequent phases, most especially the disarming of Hamas and concerning the future governance of the Strip.

Hamas is sticking by its demands of a full Israeli military withdrawal, while the plan only calls for a partial withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave.

Meanwhile, President Trump on Wednesday hinted he may actually travel to the Middle East on Saturday if a deal comes to fruition.

TRUMP: WOULD CONSIDER GOING TO GAZA

#BreakingNews President Trump announced he probably visit Middle East this weekend, as he thinks they are close to finalize the Gaza deal

“If if that is the case, we will be leaving probably on Sunday, maybe Saturday” said he.. pic.twitter.com/6TifnFhj1B

— Diyar Kurda (@diyarkurda) October 8, 2025

“Peace for the Middle East, that’s a beautiful phrase, and we hope it’s going to come true, but it’s very close, and they’re doing very well,” Trump told reporters.

And this interesting moment…

🚨 BREAKING: Secretary of State Marco Rubio just handed President Trump a note regarding a MAJOR foreign policy development

“I’ve been given a note by the secretary of state saying we are VERY close to a deal in the Middle East! They will need me pretty quickly, so I can take a… pic.twitter.com/11VMx6fAIb

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 8, 2025

“We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and there are, unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also. But it’s something I think that will happen,” he added.