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Russia Pledges Efforts to Help Defuse Mideast Tensions
Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov on Sunday pledged that Moscow will exert efforts to help defuse the Israeli-Palestinian violence by supporting a Jordanian- Egyptian peace plan and the Mitchell report.
He made the pledge during a meeting with President of the Jordanian Senate Zaid al Rifaee, sources close to the meeting said.
Primakov, who is visiting the kingdom as the Russian government's special envoy for the Middle East, described the situation in the Palestinian territories as very serious.
He stressed that Russia will exert efforts to help stop the violence in the region and resume negotiations in light of the Jordanian-Egyptian peace initiative and the Mitchell report as well as international legitimacy resolutions.
Primakov stressed that the Jordanian-Egyptian initiative and the Mitchell report can serve as the basis for the peace process and curb violence against the Palestinians. The Jordanian-Egyptian plan and the Mitchell report call for an immediate end to the violence, which has left more than 550 people dead, most of them Palestinians, and resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
For his part, Rifaee stressed that the implementation of the relevant United Nations resolutions and admitting Palestinian rights are the sole way to realize a just, durable and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
He stressed the importance of a political role played by Russia in international issues. He also called for more international efforts to stop the Israeli aggressions against the Palestinians, lift the blockade against their territories and villages and create the proper ambiences to bring the peace process back on track.
Russia Deeply Concerned with Mideast TensionsFormer Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov on Sunday stressed that Moscow was deeply concerned with the tensions in the Middle East as Israeli policies were destroying accomplishments of the peace process.
Primakov made the remarks during a meeting with Speaker of Jordan's House of Representatives Abdul Hadi al Majali, the kingdom's official Petra news agency reported.
Russia was interested in both the Jordanian-Egyptian peace initiative and the Mitchell report, which proposes practical steps to end the Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed, said Primakov, who is visiting the region as the Russian government's special envoy for the Middle East.
Both the Jordanian-Egyptian plan and the Mitchell report call for an immediate end to the eight-month violence, which has left more than 550 people dead, most of them Palestinians, and resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Russian envoy urged Israel to stop settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories and cease its policies which helped extremism and weakened the force of peace in the region.
He also warned that the achievements made in the previous peace efforts will be lost if the present confrontation remained unabated.
For his part, Majali expressed appreciation for Primakov's concern over the region's issues and hailed Russia's support for Arab causes.
Majali briefed his visitor on Jordan's and other Arab countries' position on the Mideast peace process.
The Arab strategy, whose core is peace, corresponds with the world's strategy calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Arab lands in exchange for accepting Israel as a state in the region, he said.
He called on the world community to pool efforts to bring the peace process back on track and to prevent the policies of the Israeli government from turning the whole region into confrontation.
Majali denounced the Israeli policies of settlement expansion as an intention to reject a just and lasting peace in the region on the basis of international resolutions.
Primakov arrived here on Saturday for a three-day visit. Jordan is the first leg of his regional tour, which will also take him to Syria, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.
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