MOSCOW. Nov 1 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed a proposal to hold an Israeli-Palestinian high-level meeting in Moscow.
"Our proposal to hold a high-level Palestinian-Israeli meeting in Moscow also retains its relevance," the ministry said on its website on Saturday on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Madrid Peace Conference which aimed to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
"We support contacts with all sides. Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was in Russia on a visit recently. We are planning talks with the leadership of the Palestinian National Authority.
"To our deep regret, for a whole host of reasons, the potential worked up at the Madrid conference has not been used to the full, and in some areas was wasted. Consequently, as the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories continues, there have been regular recurrences of military confrontation in the conflict zone.
"The West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza strip were hit by acute socio-economic and humanitarian problems seriously worsened by a lack of intra-Palestinian unity. Unilateral steps involving attempts to change the status of Jerusalem, including the Holy sites, the settlement activity and calls for violence, have inflicted suffering on the Palestinian and Israeli civilian population, while seriously undermining the prospects of implementing the 'peace in exchange for territories' postulate entrenched in UN Security resolutions, from which stems the principle of two states, Israel and Palestine, co-existing in peace and security.
"Given the conditions, Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security and participant in the Quarter on the Middle East, urges partners to refer to the Madrid cooperation experience based on the all-embracing approach to regional challenges and threats, and to intensify joint efforts in the interest of a steady Arab-Israeli resolution. History has proved that one cannot untie Middle Eastern conflict knots alone," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.