Russia continues to call for a meeting of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators (Russia, US, UN and EU) at the level of foreign ministers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Egyptian TV channel TeN.
"We insist on convening a quartet. It has already met at the level of experts. We are convinced that the seriousness of the situation dictates the need for a ministerial meeting. We are working with our colleagues on this topic. So far, Washington prefers to act in other ways and not bring this topic to the ministerial level, although the United States continues its bilateral diplomacy with the Palestinians and Israelis. If they could guarantee success, I think everybody would be glad. So far we see that collective efforts are absolutely necessary and not enough," the foreign minister said.
Lavrov said the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can only be overcome by resuming direct negotiations between the sides based on the UN-approved international legal framework, "which no one questions: a two-state solution with assurances of agreements on all final status issues".
At the same time, the minister stressed that Russia does not support unilateral steps, in particular, continued Israeli actions aimed at expanding the settlement activity, "which no one approves of". Thus, he said, this practice was condemned by representatives of the UN, the European Union, the US and Russia. "It is precisely the composition of the "quartet" of international mediators, which could, we are interested in it, more actively seek to ensure that the parties resume direct negotiations," Lavrov said.
"Unilateral steps are also seen in the form of attempts to change the historical status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, manifested in the expropriation by force of land and Palestinian houses, which are even being demolished. All this must be urgently abandoned," stated the head of the Russian diplomatic mission.
Importance of restoring Palestinian unity
He also added that it was necessary to restore Palestinian unity with the participation of all local groups without exception. He claimed that Russia repeatedly invited their representatives to join it in order to develop a common position, "but they failed to do so to the very end".
Lavrov pointed out that restoring Palestinian unity would remove "pretexts for dodging negotiations" on the Middle East settlement. "They disavow the statements that are sometimes heard from some politicians in Israel: 'Who is there to talk to? They don't represent anybody there. They have everything `split': Ramallah, Gaza, and so on," he explained. The process, according to the minister, depends only on the Palestinians themselves, and "neither Israel, nor any Western partners, nor anyone else can prevent an agreement."
"Contradictions within the Arab world, of course, I would put aside. The Palestinian people have already suffered so much that one cannot continue with a situation that essentially leads to facts on the ground that prevent the possibility of a viable Palestinian state. Of course, it must be in the interest of all Arab states. We actively support Egypt's aspiration to help restore such unity. We want other Arab countries to join these efforts as well," the Russian foreign minister concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS