ANKARA. April 7 (Interfax) - The Palestinian-Israeli peace process has been pushed back far, while the ongoing clashes may lead to further escalation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"Regretfully, the process has been pushed back far by many events, including clashes [and] the unilateral measures of the Palestinians and the Israelis, which have developed into fierce confrontations fraught with the further escalation of tensions," Lavrov said at a press conference in Ankara on Friday.
Russia "agrees with the need to return to the fundamental UN resolutions on the principles of direct dialogue between the Palestinians and Israelis, in the format of the so-called two-state solution," he said.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has recently escalated amid the Holy Muslim Month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover. Over 40 missiles were fired at Israel from Gaza early on Friday morning, while the Israeli military hit sites of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Lebanon. Missiles were fired at northern Israel from Lebanon the day before.