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Russia in contact with Turkey on resolving Israeli-Palestinian conflict — senior diplomat

"We believe that it is impossible to overcome the crisis without solving the key problem through creating two states based on the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly," Alexander Grushko reiterated

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. Moscow and Ankara are in contact through diplomatic channels on possibilities for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters.

In response to a TASS request to comment on Ankara’s initiative to create a system of guarantor countries to resolve the crisis, he said that "diplomatic channels are being used and we are in contact with all of our partners and all players."

"Russia’s position is well-known, as it has been clarified by the president and the Foreign Ministry. We believe that it is impossible to overcome the crisis without solving the key problem through creating two states based on the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly," Grushko pointed out.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced earlier that Ankara planned to propose that members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) consider taking part in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a system of guarantor nations for each of the parties. The OIC guarantors would be responsible for ensuring that the parties under their guarantorship implement settlement terms.·Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian movement described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.