Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell called for a direct dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
"We discussed the current deadlock in a settlement in the Middle East and emphasised the need to step up the consolidated efforts of the international community for the resumption of direct talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis under UN aegis as soon as possible to resolve the issues of final status and to reach a comprehensive peace agreement," - Lavrov said at press conference following talks with Borrell.
Us President Donald Trump on January 28 presented a peace settlement plan known as the "deal of the century". The White House plan recognizes Jerusalem as the united and indivisible capital of Israel, opens up the possibility for Israel to annex the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and extend its sovereignty to the Jordan valley, and also proposes the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state without control over its borders and airspace. The plan proposes the village of Abu Dis in the Eastern suburbs of Jerusalem as the future capital of Palestine.
The Palestinians and a number of countries, including the EU, did not accept this plan, as it, in their opinion, deprives the Palestinians of their rights to the territories provided for by UN resolutions. The head of the Palestinian national authority Mahmoud Abbas also rejected the new plan, saying that the Palestinians insist on recognizing their state within the borders of 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital.
On May 19, Abbas said that Palestine had decided to terminate all agreements with Israel and the United States against the background of the Israeli government's intentions to annex Palestinian lands.
At the end of May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the date of annexation of parts of the West Bank as part of the "deal of the century". According to Netanyahu, the extension of Israeli sovereignty to the territory of Jewish settlements in the West Bank would take place on July 1, and there was no intention to change this date. Later, the Minister of Water Resources and Higher education Zeev Elkin said in an interview with the local press that the date of annexation could be moved by several days or weeks.
The Israeli authorities have begun to take concrete steps towards annexation. The replacement Prime Minister Beni Gantz instructed the chief of the General staff to speed up the training of the army in connection with the extension of Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.
The EU stated that the annexation was contrary to international law and could provoke tension in the region.
Lavrov and Borrel said at the end of the meeting that the annexation of part of the Palestinian territories by Israel could provoke a new round of violence.
"We reaffirmed the commonality of our positions with the EU to the effect that the plan on annexing part of Palestinian lands on the West Bank of the Jordan River will threaten the prospects for a two-state solution of the Palestinian-Israeli problem and could provoke a new and dangerous cycle of violence in the region," Lavrov said at a briefing.
"We emphasized the need to stop hostilities in Libya and supported the start of a constructive dialogue with the participation of all political forces," the Russian Foreign Minister said.
"Many initiatives have been made recently in this respect. I am referring to the Berlin conference and the ideas expressed by the Speaker of the Parliament in Tobruk, Aguila Saleh," Lavrov added.
In Libya, for a long time, there have been two bodies of executive power: the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Faiz Sarraj, sitting in Tripoli, and the interim Cabinet of Abdullah Abdurrahman al-Thani, operating in the East of the country jointly with the Parliament and supported by the LNA. For more than a year, the opposing camps have been fighting for the country's main city, after Haftar launched an offensive on the capital on April 4, 2019, with the goal, as he claimed, of liberating it from terrorists.
On June 6, an initiative to overcome the crisis in Libya was unveiled in Cairo. In particular, it provides for a complete cease-fire between the parties from 6 am on June 8, the continuation of negotiations of the Joint Military Committee in Geneva under the patronage of the UN, and the gradual unification of state institutions of power to establish a full life of the country. This initiative was rejected by the authorities in Tripoli.
During a press conference following talks with Josep Borrel, Lavrov also said that Russia plans to participate in the EU videoconference on humanitarian assistance to Syrians on June 30, but regrets that the government in Damascus was not invited to it.
"On June 30, the EU plans to hold a videoconference on humanitarian assistance to Syrians. We have been invited and plan to take part in that event. We have expressed regret once again that the Syrian side, that is, the legitimate Damascus Government, has not been invited to this conference, which is not the first such event to be held by the EU," the Minister said.
He explained that at present, Western aid is mainly sent to refugees outside of Syria, which does not facilitate their return to their homeland, or is sent to Syrians in territories not controlled by the government in Damascus.
Lavrov and Borrel also discussed the processes that are developing in Vienna within the framework of the IAEA Board of governors.
Russia and the European Union, as noted by Lavrov and Borrel, are committed to implementing the document.
"We held an in-depth discussion on the Iranian nuclear program. We pointed out the commitment of Russia and the EU to ensuring a sustainable and comprehensive implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," Lavrov noted.
"We exchanged views on the difficult processes underway within the framework of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, as well as in New York, where our American colleagues are trying to promote solutions that contradict all the agreements reached within the JCPOA and approved by UN Security Council Resolution 2231," Lavrov added.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from RIA Novosti, TASS