Lavrov: Unilateral steps in Palestinian-Israeli talks undermine trust

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the parties involved in the Palestinian-Israeli talks to avoid unilateral steps and actions, which undermine trust. “Due to the long pause in the talks we rivet special attention to strengthening trust,” Lavrov said. “We laud Israel’s decision to release a first group of Palestinian prisoners. We also laud Palestine’s restrained steps on the international arena,” Lavrov added. The minister noted that unilateral steps could have a negative impact on the pace of the talks. He called for avoiding such actions as “Israel’s growing settlement policy in East Jerusalem”. He said the final settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli problem should be based on the U.N. resolutions, the Madrid principles and the Arab Peace Initiative. Palestine praises Russia’s position on the Palestinian-Israeli talks, head of the Palestinian delegation at the talks with Israel Saeb Erekat said. Opening the talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday, the Palestinian official said: “We intend to regularly arrive in Russia to coordinate our positions. We need aid from Moscow, Brussels and Washington to achieve progress in the peaceful settlement.” Palestine realises that Palestine and Israel “should take a decision on the peaceful settlement”, Erekat stressed. He urged Israel to refrain from the settlement policy, in particular in East Jerusalem. “Palestinians seek to ensure stability in the region,” he said.