MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/. It doesn’t matter so much where Middle East countries decide to hold their ministerial meeting to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but when it takes place that is most important, Russian Presidential Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told reporters.
"We have no preference about where the meeting is held. I mean that a consensus venue needs to be found to suit everyone. The key thing for us is when it takes place," he said.
Bogdanov added that Russia would prefer if "certain positive processes take place at a faster pace," and "such a meeting is long overdue, as there were plans even before the developments that began in October.".
The senior diplomat specified that the Palestine Liberation Organization’s political policy, which complies with international law, "has been and remains" "a healthy foundation" for the agenda of the meeting.
Earlier, Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov said that Russia’s proposal for a meeting to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the level of regional ministers was still on the table, and emphasized that regional nations, not forces "from across the ocean," should play the biggest part in resolving the conflict.