MOSCOW. May 23 (Interfax) - Russia welcomes the agreement of Palestinian forces to hold municipal elections in October 2011, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told representatives of Palestinian organizations in Moscow on Monday.
"We welcome the agreement to hold municipal elections on the West Bank and in Gaza in October 2011," he said.
"That would be an important step towards democratic and efficient management of peaceful life on all the Palestinian lands," he said.
The formation of an interim government of technocrats should be the second step of Palestinian forces in order to prepare for general elections, Lavrov said.