All news

Russia insists on meeting of Middle East Quartet top diplomats —Lavrov

Lavrov reiterated that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be resolved only through direct negotiations, on the basis of the UN-approved documents

MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Russia keeps urging to convene a Middle East Quartet (Russia, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union) meeting at the level of top diplomats, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said in an interview with Egypt’s TeN television.

"We insist on convoking the Quartet. It already convened at the level of experts. We are convinced that a ministerial meeting is necessitated by the seriousness of the situation. We are working with our colleagues on the issue. So far, Washington opts for different methods, preferring not to take this issue to the ministerial level, although the United States continues its bilateral diplomacy with the Palestinians and the Israelis. If it could guarantee success, everyone would welcome it. At present, we see a demand for collective efforts, and a lack of them," he said.

Lavrov reiterated that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be resolved only through direct negotiations, on the basis of the UN-approved documents.

At the same time, the minister stressed that Russia discourages unilateral steps, including Israel’s settlement activities.

He also called for restoring Palestinian unity with the participation of all local political forces without exception. In his words, Russia has repeatedly invited delegations of Palestinian factions for talks, aimed at forging a common stance, "but they did not quite succeed in doing so."

In the minister’s words, restoring the Palestinian unity would help to nullify "pretexts for evading the talks" on Middle East reconciliation.