Lavrov, Pedersen Discuss Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, in Moscow on February 23, 2022. (Photo by Handout / RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, in Moscow on February 23, 2022. (Photo by Handout / RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP)
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Lavrov, Pedersen Discuss Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, in Moscow on February 23, 2022. (Photo by Handout / RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, in Moscow on February 23, 2022. (Photo by Handout / RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met in Moscow with the UN's special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, who is getting ready for a new round of negotiations of a committee representing the Syrian government and the opposition over draft constitutional reforms.

"We are all interested in the swiftest settlement of the Syrian crisis based on UN Security Council resolutions," Lavrov said during the talks.

"The importance of our cooperation is confirmed by the fact that we are meeting today and will aspire to achieve practical progress in the Syrian settlement,” he added.

Pedersen expressed hope that the recent world developments would not affect the situation in Syria.



UNICEF Says the World Has Failed Gaza’s Children

Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine M. Russell speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at the United Nations headquarters on July 16, 2025, in New York City. (AFP)
Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine M. Russell speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at the United Nations headquarters on July 16, 2025, in New York City. (AFP)
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UNICEF Says the World Has Failed Gaza’s Children

Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine M. Russell speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at the United Nations headquarters on July 16, 2025, in New York City. (AFP)
Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine M. Russell speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at the United Nations headquarters on July 16, 2025, in New York City. (AFP)

More than 17,000 kids have reportedly been killed and 33,000 wounded in the ongoing war in Gaza, UNICEF’s executive director Catherine Russell told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

She said each of the territory's one million children have faced immense suffering.

An average of 28 kids die daily in Gaza, “a whole classroom of children killed every day for nearly two years,” she said.

Malnutrition has surged, with nearly 6,000 children acutely malnourished in June, a 180% increase since February, she said. UNICEF warns these children will face lifelong impacts.

Food supplies are running out and civilians are being shot while seeking something to eat, UN Undersecretary-General Tom Fletcher told the council.

"Civilians are exposed to death and injury, forcible displacement, stripped of dignity,” Fletcher he, emphasizing Israel’s obligation under the Geneva Conventions to provide food and medical aid as the occupying power in Gaza.

He also challenged the council to consider whether Israel’s rules of engagement incorporate all the precautions to avoid and minimize civilian casualties.