(RIA Novosti) - One of Russia's top security officials called Friday for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict in Lebanon as a political solution to the Middle East crisis could only be found in peaceful conditions.
"We are firmly in favor of an immediate end to all military operations," said Igor Ivanov, the secretary of the Russian Security Council and a former foreign minister, reports Trend.
At a Moscow meeting with Saad Hariri, the leader of the Lebanese parliamentary majority and son of the late former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, Ivanov said innocent people were being killed in both Lebanon and Israel.
"Only an immediate ceasefire may create conditions for the political resolution of all problems in the region and we insist on it and will insist [on it] at the UN and during talks with our partners," Ivanov said.
"Russia is deeply concerned about the dramatic developments in Lebanon and the region on the whole," he added.
Hariri thanked Russia for support at a time when his country is being targeted in air, sea and land attacks.
He urged Russia to use its contacts with Israel to secure an end to military operations and launch a process to find a political solution.
More than 900 Lebanese civilians have lost their lives in three weeks of fighting between the Israeli military and Hizbollah militants in southern Lebanon week. In all, 67 Israelis have been killed, including 27 civilians.