May 17 2021 Tensions in the Middle East have been rising recently, Russian Sputnik network reported Wednesday. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vilshnin told the UN Security Council meeting that Russia called for urgent ministerial talks on the Middle East quartet in order to downgrade the situation and create an atmosphere of trust.
In order to coordinate the Quartet with key countries in the region, Vilshnin reportedly noted that an expanded ministerial meeting was also proposed to invite the participation of key countries in the region. In his view, it is necessary to establish the corresponding conditions in a short period of time to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace dialogue on the basis of the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly and the principle of peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister added that the invitation to convene talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Moscow remains valid.
Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament), also said russia intends to provide a platform for talks in Moscow to mediate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In recent days, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has continued to escalate. Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip killed 192 Palestinians, including 58 children and more than 30 women, and injured more than 1,200 others.
