FM: Russia willing to host Palestine-Israel meeting

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday reiterated Moscow’s willingness to host a meeting for Palestinian and Israeli representatives without “preconditions”.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 5th Session of the Arab-Russian Ministerial Forum in Moscow, Lavrov said that Russia rejects “foreign dictates and prepared prescriptions” to resolve the crises in the region.

For his part, Arab League Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, praised Russia’s rejection of the US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, saying the US position was a flagrant violation of international law and destroyed the basis for the Middle East peace process and the principle of land for peace.

READ: US issues new map showing Golan Heights as Israel territory

Aboul Gheit called on Russia to continue to support Palestinian and Arab positions, especially in the United National Security Council and international forums, in order to deal with the “vicious” attack targeting the Palestinian people.

The 5th Session of the Arab-Russian Ministerial Forum which was held at the ministerial level, included a brief presentation of the most important challenges facing the Arab countries and Russia including those related to the Palestinian issue and the crises in Syria, Yemen, Libya and the fight against terrorism.