MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the criticism of the international Quartet on the Middle East (the U.S., Russia, the UN and the EU) fair and suggested involving in it a representative of the Arab League, making him a full-fledged participant in the Quartet.
"We are hearing criticism of the international Quartet. We consider this criticism to be fair because the quartet has done nothing for a long time," Lavrov said at the Russian-Arab forum involving the Arab League held in Khartoum, Sudan.
Lavrov said Russia is calling for "the intensification of this platform, but not in the old format, but involving a representative of the Arab League as a full-fledged participant because it was the Arab peace initiative that opened the way for stable and long-term settlement."
"I hope our Western partners will heed these proposals," Lavrov said.