Moscow is satisfied with the decision to introduce a ceasefire in the conflict zone between Palestine and Israel, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Friday.
"Moscow notes with a sense of deep satisfaction that the ceasefire regime in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict went into effect at 2 a.m. on May 21," the diplomat pointed out.
According to Zakharova, an "important, but still insufficient step" was taken to avoid a further spiral of violence. "At this stage, international and regional efforts should be focused on creating appropriate conditions for restarting direct political negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to resolve fundamental final status issues on the basis of a UN resolution and the two-state principle in order to prevent a relapse into power confrontation," she stressed.
According to the diplomat, Russia confirms its readiness to host a meeting between the leaders of Israel and Palestine.
"The Russian proposal to hold on the territory of our country direct talks between the leadership of Israel and Palestine without preconditions remains in force. The Palestinians have repeatedly stated their readiness in principle for such a contact, the Israelis have not yet decided, apparently West Jerusalem is not yet ready for a direct dialogue with the Palestinian National Authority," she said.
"As for the position of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators on this initiative, none of the participants of this mechanism spoke out against it," the diplomat added.
Zakharova pointed out that Moscow considers it important to hold an urgent meeting of the Quartet at the ministerial level, as well as to convene a Quartet ministerial meeting with key regional players.
The groups operating in Gaza and the Israeli army have been exchanging strikes since May 10. The rocket attacks followed riots at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, which began following an Israeli court decision to seize homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood from Arab families living there. During that time, more than 4,000 rockets were fired by radicals into the Jewish State, and the Israeli military responded by bombing hundreds of targets in the enclave. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health, the number of dead Palestinians in Gaza reached 232, 1,900 were wounded. The total number of victims of the conflict in the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, is 260. On the Israeli side, at least 12 people were killed.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS