OREANDA-NEWS. July 01, 2010. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov met in Ramallah with Head of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas on June 29 as part of his Middle East tour.

There was a lively exchange of views on Middle Eastern problems, especially in the light of Palestinian-Israeli proximity talks, launched in May this year in accordance with the recommendations of the ministerial meeting in Moscow of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators, as well as on the development of Russian-Palestinian ties.

The Russian side expressed support for Abbas as the lawfully elected Palestinian leader in the promotion of the proximity dialogue with Israel, whose outcome should be direct contacts for reaching a final agreement on the universally recognized international legal basis. Lavrov confirmed Russia's readiness, internationally and bilaterally, to continue efforts towards achieving a just and comprehensive Middle East settlement which would provide all peoples of the region a future without wars and violence.

Abbas noted the usefulness of Russia’s Middle East efforts and called for continued vigorous assistance by our country to the realization of a two-state solution to the Palestine problem envisioning an independent and viable Palestinian state coexisting with Israel in peace and security. He expressed appreciation for the consistent policy of Russia in favor of a speedy restoration of Palestinian unity as a key to the successful development of the peace process in the region.

In the context of discussing the situation in the Palestinian territories, Lavrov reiterated our principled stand on the need for lifting Israel’s blockade of Gaza, and briefed on the practical steps of Russia aimed at facilitating the efforts of the PNA authorities to alleviate the humanitarian situation there.

The parties noted with satisfaction that thanks to the implementation of the accords reached during the visit of Abbas to Russia in January this year, Russian-Palestinian relations are acquiring new content in various fields. They defined as priority areas for further joint work the political dialogue, material interaction, primarily based on the considerable potential of the Russian-Palestinian Business Council, cultural and sporting ties. It was generally felt that the mutual interest in strengthening the partnership and the considerable positive experience already gained serve as a good guarantee of the growth of the effectiveness of Russian-Palestinian cooperation.