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Middle East and North Africa

Palestine treating talks with Israel seriously, says official

He said he had arrived in Moscow to inform the Russian friends of the Palestinians on the progress of negotiations

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, August 22 (Itar-Tass) - Palestinian and Israeli negotiating teams are set to hold regular meetings and the atmosphere at the rounds of negotiations testifies to the seriousness of intentions, the head of the Palestinian delegation to the talks with Israel, Saeb Erekat told Itar-Tass upon arrival in Moscow.

He said the Palestinian side was making all the steps it could make to achieve a successful result and it had a firm intention to cope with the task however complicated it might be.

Erekat indicated he would not disclose the venue and date of the next round of talks or the subject of discussions but he could confirm that meeting with the Israelis would be regular.

He said he had arrived in Moscow to inform the Russian friends of the Palestinians on the progress of negotiations.

Russia is an important partner for Palestine and for Israel likewise, since it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and is a participant in the Middle East peace quartet, Erekat said.

He said the Palestinians would like to maintain permanent coordination with Russia and that is why the Palestinian delegation has come to Moscow to hold talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

A new round of Palestinian-Israeli talks started out in Washington July 29 and the delegations have had two meetings since then - August 14 and August 20.

The talks are held behind closed doors. The Israeli delegation is led by the former Foreign Minister, Tsipi Livni.

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