Israeli-Palestinian peace process facing potential collapse, cautions Lavrov

MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. The process of looking for political settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is facing significant problems and can potentially collapse, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a joint press conference following talks with Foreign Minister of the Libyan Government of National Accord Mohamed Siala Wednesday. According to Lavrov, "the risks of collapse of political decisions" in this sphere "are as real as never before." "The situation is very serious," he noted. "Responsible and leading role of the UN is needed here just like in other cases to resume direct talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis with the support of the Quartet of international mediators and Arab states." The Russian minister emphasized that Moscow is expecting "active and responsible steps, initiative steps from the new UN envoy for Middle Eastern settlement and, of course, the Secretary General himself.". Read more