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Russia, Palestine to hold consultations regarding Middle East negotiations

Lavrov and Erekat: extremely important to strengthen trust between Palestinians and Israelis and refrain from unilateral steps
Sergei Lavrov, Photo ITAR-TASS archive/ Mikhail Metzel
Sergei Lavrov, Photo ITAR-TASS archive/ Mikhail Metzel

MOSCOW, August 22 (Itar-Tass) - Russia and Palestine agreed to hold regular consultations on the Middle East resolution, Russia's Foreign Ministry reported.

The ministry commented on Thursday’s talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and head of the Palestinian delegation at the Palestinian-Israeli talks Saeb Erekat.

“Lavrov and Erekat said it was extremely important to do everything possible to strengthen trust between Palestinians and Israelis and refrain from unilateral steps, which can deteriorate the situation,” the ministry said in its report.

Opening the meeting, Lavrov said the final settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli problem should be based on the U.N. resolutions, the Madrid principles and the Arab Peace Initiative.

“Due to the long pause in the talks we rivet special attention to strengthening trust,” Lavrov said, adding, “We laud Israel’s decision to release a first group of Palestinian prisoners. We also laud Palestine’s restrained steps on the international arena.”

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 previously told Itar-Tass upon arrival in Moscow.