UNITED NATIONS, April 25. /TASS/. Russia calls for going back to common approaches to the Middle East settlement and thwarting the threat of another armed confrontation in the zone of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

"We state with deep regret and concern that the Palestinian problem is still ‘overboard’ of positive changes. By initiating today’s meeting, we are seeking to draw attention to the unprecedented growth of tension and violence in the zone of the Arab-Israeli conflict. We think that today it is necessary as never before to reiterate ‘common denominators’ of the Middle East settlement committed to paper in the resolutions of the [UN Security] Council and the General Assembly, to stop the threat of another armed confrontation and clear the political horizon for the resumption of the peace process," he said at a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

At the same time, he said that Russia welcomes positive changes that seemed out of reach not long ago. "I mean, first of all, the resumption of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran with China’s mediation; progress has been made in the practical implementation of plans to return Syria to the "Arab family" which we have been working toward for quite a long time; the normalization between Damascus and Ankara, which has begun with Russia’s assistance and making full use of everything the Astana format has to offer. Thanks to Riyadh’s initiatives and actions, steps are being taken to speed up the settlement of the bloody conflict in Yemen," he explained.