Peres: Peace Can Be Achieved Only at Negotiating TableIsrael understands that a peaceful settlement in the Middle East can be achieved only at the negotiating table, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Sunday upon his arrival here for a two-day working visit.All that was achieved in the Middle East peace process till now "was reached only at the negotiating table," Peres told reporters. A phone talk was held on Saturday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, during which the head of the Israeli cabinet informed the Russian president of the situation in the Palestinian territories, he said. On the same day, after his visit to Leo Tolstoy's estate museum in Khamovniki, a Moscow district, he said that both Palestine and Palestinian people are not Israel's enemies. Israel has always been striving for a peaceful solution of the conflict in an understanding that the other alternative -- war --" will bring nothing good," he stressed. Peres expressed the hope that Russia supports Israel's peace initiatives. The current trip is his first visit to Russia as foreign minister. President Vladimir Putin will receive him on Monday. Later in the day, Peres will hold consultations with his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov. Itar-Tass news agency cited "reliable sources in Moscow" as saying that the two sides will concentrate on specific measures for stopping violence in the Middle East and to bring Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table. |
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