MOSCOW, July 18 (KUNA) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that Washington held a monopoly on mediation in the Middle East peace process, which led to a vicious circle of Palestinian-Israeli violence.
During his meeting with Arab and Turkish ambassadors in Moscow, he said Washington practiced a hegemony on the mediation effort and aborted any collective effort to realize a peaceful settlement.
The United State is reluctant to reactivate the role of the Middle East Quartet, consisting of Russia, the United Nations, the European Union and the US, a press release from the Russian Foreign Ministry quoted the minister as saying during the meeting.
Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's commitment to the quest for a fair settlement to the conflict based on the UN-recognized points of reference.
These include the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly, the Arab peace initiative and the principles of the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference which apply to all occupied Arab territories, including the Syrian Golan Heights.
Lavrov stressed Russia's support to the principle of two-state solution which envisages Palestine and Israel living side by side in peace and security.
Russia maintains strong support to the Palestinians' struggle for establishing an independent state within the pre-1967 borderlines with East Jerusalem as its capital city, he pointed out.
Lavrov briefed the Arab and Turkish diplomats on the Russian initiative to convene a consultative meeting with main actors in the Middle East, including the Arab League, to advance the process towards Palestinian national unity at the core of which is the PLO.
The Russian minister suggested diverting the mediation in the Middle East peace process to collective action capitalizing on the roles of main regional stakeholders, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkiye and Syria. (end) os.gb