MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. The US rejected work within the framework of the "quartet" on the Middle East (Russia, the US, the UN, the EU) a long time ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the Federation Council.

"For many years, long before the special military operation in Ukraine, the United States has been refusing to work in the 'quartet' of international intermediaries, who have a full-fledged legal mandate from the Security Council: the US, Russia, the European Union and the UN," he said.

That said, the top Russian diplomat stressed that Moscow has always stood for the League of Arab States (LAS) actively working with the "quartet" as a full-fledged member. "The Americans simply went and said: you can meet as the 'quartet,’ we are not interested, we will make all decisions on our own," he added.