Moscow is calling for a ministerial meeting of the Quartet on the Middle East settlement (Russia, US, EU, UN) as soon as possible. Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said this on Thursday, speaking at a special meeting of the UN General Assembly (GA) on the escalation in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
"We are in favor of intensifying the activities of the Middle East Quartet. We propose an urgent ministerial meeting of the Quartet to de-escalate the situation and create an atmosphere of trust," he said. "In order to take into account the views of stakeholders, we also propose to convene a ministerial meeting of the Quartet in an expanded format with the participation of regional states," the diplomat added.
Polyanskiy stressed "there is no alternative to a political settlement of the existing differences." "The two sides need to take responsibility and start a dialogue. We no longer have the right to make a mistake," he concluded.
Ceasefire
According to Polyanskiy, Russia hopes that the cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement will be a long-term one.
He stressed that "Russia, like other countries, has made and is making energetic efforts to achieve de-escalation." "A few hours ago there were reports that a cease-fire agreement seemed to have been reached. I would very much like it to be long-term," he stated.
Polyanskiy said that Moscow calls for the urgent launch of direct Palestinian-Israeli dialogue.
"We believe that there is an urgent need to launch direct Palestinian-Israeli dialogue. It is during direct negotiations that the parties must work out solutions to fundamental questions of the final status, including the status of East Jerusalem," he said.
Rights of believers
Polyanskiy called for "ensuring the rights and freedom of believers to worship in the cradle of the three monotheistic religions."
"But the first step is certainly an end to violence, a renunciation of provocative rhetoric and any unilateral steps, which in the current situation are completely unacceptable," he added.
Polyanskiy said that Russia calls on the parties to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to observe the norms of international humanitarian law.
"There must be an immediate ceasefire and a halt to the bloodshed," he pointed out. - "We call on the sides to observe the norms of international humanitarian law and not to allow civilian casualties."
The situation in Israel and the Gaza Strip
Earlier the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the information about the truce with Hamas controlling the Gaza Strip.
A number of media reported that the ceasefire between the Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip and Israel would tentatively come into force at 02:00 Moscow time on May 21.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Zuma \ TASS
Based on materials from TASS