BELUSHYA GUBA (NOVAYA ZEMLYA ARCHIPELAGO). July 19 (Interfax-AVN) - A UN peacekeeping operation in the Middle East conflict area is possible only with the consent of the conflicting parties, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said.
"It would make sense to talk about a peacekeeping operation only when the conflicting parties give their consent," Ivanov told journalists on Novaya Zemlya in reply to a question from Interfax.
Otherwise, the peacekeepers will find themselves "between a rock and a hard place," Ivanov said. He suggested that a peacekeeping operation in the Middle East would be premature now.
"The only way [to settle the conflict] is the political-diplomatic one," Ivanov said. "There is no other way. At least I don't see one," he added.