Home | China | World | Business Russia Calls for Uniting Israeli, Palestinian Forces for Peace WED, FEB 27, 2002     It is important for "peace-loving forces among the Palestinian and Israeli peoples to act together at the hard moment for the Middle East region," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told a delegation of the Palestinian-Israeli Coalition for Peace in Moscow Tuesday. "Moscow welcomes the activities of the public-political movement which favors the soonest settlement of the conflict and the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations," the minister said. Both sides stressed the importance of an active international assistance to the search for ways out of the crisis, including efforts of the co-sponsors, coordinated actions of the four intermediaries -- Russia, the U.S., the European Union and the United Nations, and the constructive assistance of other interested sides. "The strategic goal is progress towards a comprehensive Arab-Israeli settlement on the basis of the Madrid principles, first and foremost under the resolutions 242 and 338 of the U.N. Security Council," Ivanov said at the meeting. On the recent initiative by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdallah on a settlement in the Middle East, Ivanov said Russia "is willing to welcome any initiatives promoting the Middle East peace process." The prince's proposals mainly stipulate the recognition of Israel by Arab countries in exchange for a pullout of Israeli troops from the Arab lands they occupied in 1967. If the Saudi initiative "is positively met by the parties of the conflict, it will be approved by Russia," the minister said. The Palestinian-Israeli Coalition for Peace was established last May, which proclaims a goal of realizing a permanent peace between Palestine and Israel. Editor:Liu Hongji Source:Xinhua Recommend to your friend email:    China Central Television,All Rights Reserved