Moscow, Riyadh share approaches to Palestine-Israel conflict - Lavrov

RIYADH, March 4. /TASS/. Moscow and Riyadh agree that the Palestine-Israel conflict should be resolved based on the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir on Monday. "We paid special attention to the need to achieve progress in resolving the Palestine-Israel issue, which has been stalled. We are confident that it is only possible to overcome the impasse using the principles for a peaceful settlement enshrined by the United Nations based on the two-state concept. We will certainly seek to make sure that further efforts are made based on the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, put forward by late Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud," the Russian top diplomat pointed out. He added that the parties had also discussed the situation in the Middle East and North Africa "given the priority need to fight against terrorism and the spread of extremist ideas," as well as efforts to resolve the crises in Syria and Yemen. Arab Peace Initiative The Arab Peace Initiative, endorsed at the Arab League summit in 2002, calls for establishing comprehensive peace between Arab countries and Israel and putting an end to the conflict, provided Israel fully withdraws from areas it occupied in 1967 and recognizes the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital. Read more