Russia sees the willingness of US President Joe Biden's administration to resume the work of the Middle East Quartet (Russia, US, EU and UN), Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday at a press conference following talks with Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid.
"We are interested in having such a meeting [of the Middle East Quartet] after a long break. At this stage, we are talking about the possibility of a ministerial level. Our special representatives in the Quartet communicated several months ago. Everyone seemed to agree that this work could be resumed," he said. - "The Biden administration is ready for that, unlike its predecessors. When that happens is up to all the members of the Quartet. We are ready to do it at any time because we consider it useful to exchange views about how the international community can help to create conditions for an agreement between Israel and Palestine because only they can agree on settling all the contradictions which persist".
As the minister noted, Russia considers it useful to use all opportunities and negotiating formats in order to revive the process of Palestinian-Israeli settlement. "At this stage, our Israeli friends are giving priority attention to the socio-economic problems that exist in the Palestinian territories. We are also contributing to this work, and it is, of course, necessary for the residents of the Palestinian Authority to feel more confident," Lavrov added. - "As for the political aspects of the Middle East settlement, so far they have been put on pause. There are many reasons for this, but we are convinced that it is necessary to resume concrete talks in various formats. One format I have already mentioned is direct dialogue between Israel and Palestine. Moscow is ready to provide its services for this, including its territory, if the parties are ready for it."
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS