MOSCOW, June 22. /TASS/. The US-Iranian memorandum on ending the armed conflict in the Middle East was the focus of Monday’s Russian-Iranian consultations in Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said.
"On June 22, Russian foreign ministry’s special envoy for Syrian settlement and director of the ministry’s Middle East and North Africa department Alexander Kinshchak held consultations on the Middle East issues with aide to the Iranian foreign minister and the head of the ministry’s bureau of West Asia and North Africa Mehdi Shoushtari in Moscow. On the same day, Shoushtari was received by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko," the ministry said.
The discussions focused on the "prospects for the implementation of the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States on ending the armed conflict in the Middle East," it added. "The sides stressed the importance of strict adherence to the agreements reached and their faithful implementation by all parties involved in the armed conflict, as this would contribute to the overall stabilization of the situation in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East region in general," the ministry noted.
"In this context, the sides emphasized the task of ensuring a sustainable and long-term ceasefire along the Lebanese-Israeli border, which implies refraining from any hostile and provocative actions, as well as creating conditions for launching a political and diplomatic settlement process based on the provisions of UN Security Council resolution 1701. The sides stressed the need for the soonest withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon and reaffirmed their principled position in support for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of that country," the ministry said.
The sides stated that Russia and Iran have close approaches to the crises in the Middle East and North Africa, "which fact constitutes a basis for closer coordination between Moscow and Tehran in the interests of promoting effective settlement of regional conflicts on the basis of international law and the search for balance of interests of the parties concerned," the ministry said.
The diplomats also stressed the need for ensuring "sustainable truce in the Gaza Strip, as well as safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all those who need this, and beginning work to restore the Palestinian enclave’s civilian infrastructure that has been practically totally ruined during the hostilities," it said. "The diplomats stressed the importance of the normalization of the situation in the West Bank, the termination of settlement activity there. They also agreed that any steps geared to change the historic status of Jerusalem’s holy sites are inadmissible."
"The Russian side reaffirmed its principled position in favor of a comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian problem, which is of paramount importance for the entire Middle East region, on the basis of international law envisaging the establishment of an independent, territorially intact, and viable State of Palestine," the ministry continued. "The sides exchanged views on other pressing issues on the regional agenda, including Syria, Libya, Sudan, and the Western Sahara settlement.".