GENEVA, March 29. /TASS/. Russia is gravely concerned about the human rights situation in the Israeli-occupied territories and is calling on all sides to refrain from provocations, a member of the Russian delegation to the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council said on Wednesday.

Russia "is concerned about the negative development of the human rights situation in the occupied territories," delegation member Olga Vorontsova said in a speech.

She said of special concern was the "ongoing escalation of violence that affects civilians, including women and children, provocative violations of the status of the holy sites in Jerusalem, Israeli plans to ramp up settlement construction, nonstop practice of razing Palestinian-owned housing and the decisions of the Israeli government to legalize outposts in the occupied Palestinian territories."

"We call on all parties to refrain from provocative actions that are fraught with escalation of violence, especially during religious holidays," the diplomat said. Russia proceeds from the premise that "the key to long-term stabilization is the achievement of mutually acceptable agreements on all issues of the final status based on the universally recognized international legal framework for the Middle East settlement and the bilateral formula," which Moscow invariably supports, Vorontsova said.

On March 19, a five-way meeting was held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh with the participation of delegations from Israel and Palestine, as well as representatives of Egypt, Jordan and the United States, to achieve a settlement that guarantees calm in the region during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (which began this year on March 23 and ends on April 21). According to the final statement, the sides agreed on the immediate cessation of unilateral measures for a period of three to six months and reaffirmed their commitment to the previous agreement. This implies that Israel has undertaken to suspend discussions on the expansion of settlements in the West Bank for the next four months and to stop issuing building permits for up to six months.