Russian Mideast Envoy Urges Implementation of Peace Plan

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, June 15, 2003

Russian Mideast Envoy Urges Implementation of Peace Plan

Visiting Russian Middle East envoy Andrei Vdovin on Saturday called for the implementation of the "road map" peace plan on the Middle East.

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Visiting Russian Middle East envoy Andrei Vdovin on Saturday called for the implementation of the "road map" peace plan on the Middle East.

"If the road map failed, the situation will be worse than now,"Vdovin told reporters after a meeting with Arab League chief Amr Moussa.

The Russian envoy called for more efforts to reach a cease-firebetween the Palestinians and Israel and bring the road map back ontrack.

He said he discussed with Moussa the dangerous situation in theMiddle East region and the ongoing efforts to defuse the Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

Vdovin also urged sending international observers to the Palestinian territories, saying such an idea is mentioned in the road map.

Palestinian-Israeli tensions have been mounting since Tuesday, when Israel tried but failed to assassinate Abdel Aziz Ranteesi, aspokesman of Hamas, in Gaza City.

The radical Palestinian group has vowed to engage in tit-for-tat attacks against Israel.

Although two peace summits held earlier this month in the Middle East have given an impetus to the derailed Palestinian-Israeli peace train, hope for peace seems to be fading.

On June 3, several Arab leaders and US President George W. Bushheld a summit at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, where the two sides vowed to help break the cycle of Palestinian-Israeli violence.

On the following day, Bush had another summit with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and his Israeli counterpart, Ariel Sharon, at the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba in a bid to persuade the conflicting sides to honor their commitments to the "road map" peace plan.

The road map, worked out by the Quartet Committee -- the UnitedStates, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union -- envisions a full Palestinian statehood by 2005.

Under the peace plan, the Palestinians are supposed to curb anti-Israel attacks and cooperate with Israel on security affairs.

Meanwhile, Israel is required to halt all settlement activitiesand pull back from the Palestinian lands re-occupied since the Israeli-Palestinian clashes on Sept. 28, 2000.

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