Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin Wednesday urged Israel and the Palestinians to move forward more quickly in the Middle East peace process.

"There is a process of coming together but it should move faster," Yeltsin said after arrival in Jeursalem to attend the celebrations of the first Orthodox Christmas of the new millennium, which will begin Thursday evening.

Yeltsin shocked the world last Friday by announcing his resignation from the presidency he held since 1991. He appointed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as acting president.

During his three-day visit in the Holy Land, which was planned before his resignation, Yeltsin will attend Orthodox Christmas celebrations in Jerusalem and in the Palestinian self-rule city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.

He will meet President Ezer Weizman and acting Prime Minister Yitzhak Mordechai of Israel and Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

This is his first visit abroad since his resignation.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's office has ruled out the possibility that Barak might return from the United States, where he is holding talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara, briefly to meet Yeltsin. (Xinhua)