Russia expresses its deep concern about the escalation between Palestine and Israel and calls on the parties to the conflict to refrain from confrontational steps. This was said in a statement of the Russian foreign ministry, distributed on Friday.
The ministry noted that another round of tension in the conflict began with clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on April 5. "The continued escalation of violence in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict causes deep concern in Moscow. <...> We call on the parties to the conflict to refrain from confrontational steps, act to prevent further escalation, stop violence and restore a sustainable ceasefire," the ministry said.
The foreign ministry added that Moscow reiterates the importance of respecting the status quo of Jerusalem's holy sites and respecting the rights of believers amid the ongoing escalation. "Particular sensitivity in these matters is required now - given that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Catholic and Orthodox Easter and the Jewish Passover fall in April this year," Smolensk Square stressed.
The agency noted that without a clear, "comprehensive solution to this long-standing problem," recurrences of violent confrontation are inevitable.
"Only the establishment of a full-fledged negotiation process aimed at working out a compromise formula for the Palestinian-Israeli settlement on a well-known international legal basis can be the key to long-term stabilization of the situation," the ministry concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Akishin Vyacheslav/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS