Russia Calls for Multilateral Talks to Resolve Israeli-Palestinian Conflict — Lavrov

The foreign minister pointed out that the Quartet has not been convened for some time and its meetings are being blocked by the United States

© Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/TASS

ANKARA, April 7. /TASS/. Moscow is in favor of resuming multilateral negotiations to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which would involve the Quartet on the Middle East and the Arab League, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday.

"We have long been advocating to resume the multilateral process for the Israeli-Palestinian settlement, as there is a universally recognized collective mediator, which is the Quartet comprising Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations," he said. "It is in this very framework, with the mandatory involvement of the Arab League, that we can, in practice and with hope for some kind of result, search for agreements that should be based on the principles of the two-state solution, as they are formulated in documents."

Lavrov pointed out that the Quartet has not been convened for some time and its meetings are being blocked by the United States.

"Regrettably, the UN Secretary-General, who is supposed to initiate such meetings, has faded into the woodwork, as apparently he is unwilling to irritate US colleagues, since the United States has outspokenly declared its course of handling this by itself and of getting the Palestinians and Israelis to reconcile," the minister said.

According to Lavrov, the conditions suggested by Washington do not comply with the principles laid down in the US resolutions.

On Tuesday, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israeli law enforcement officers stormed into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, firing stun grenades, spraying tear gas and using rubber bullets and batons. According to the Lebanese TV channel Al-Mayadeen, more than 400 people were detained. In the meantime, Israel’s police said on Wednesday that tens of masked young men barricaded themselves inside the mosque compound, chanting slogans and calling for riots. Police officers then had to enter its premises.