Kalugin has held a series of meetings and consultations in Israel and the Palestinian authority to see the possibilities and ways of settling matters outlined at the ministerial session of the Quartet in New York on May 4.
In view of the dynamic developments in the Middle East, the special envoys of the four sides (the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations) initiating the Roadmap plan of peace settlement, got down without delay to implementing the agreements reached in New York, Kalugin said.
Special attention during the contacts was given to the plan of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for the withdrawal of the Israelis from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The international Quartet has in principle positively spoken up of the Sharon plan on the condition that it will precede implementation of all the Roadmap clauses, the Russian special envoy said.
In focus at the talks were also the vital goals - ending of violence and resumption of the negotiating process between the two conflicting sides.
During contacts in the Israeli foreign political establishment and the Palestinian National Authority, emphasis was made on the taking of concrete practical steps towards stabilization in the region, Kalugin said. Since the plan of withdrawal from Gaza is far from being carried out, the situation necessitates the earliest resumption of bilateral Israeli-Palestinian talks and moves forward in line with the Roadmap.
The Russian side calls on Israel to improve the humanitarian situation on the Palestinian lands - facilitate free movement of people and goods, eliminate illegitimate advance posts and excessive checkpoints. Securing its right to self-defense and security,Israel should observe the rules of the international humanitarian law, violated during the military operation in Rafah in mid-May, Kalugin said.
The talks held showed that the Israeli side, saying it has no worthy Palestinian negotiating partner and seeing this as pretext for unilateral delimitation steps, still does not rule out the possibility of a meeting between Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei.
During conversations with the Palestinian officials, the need was stressed of taking steps to reform security structures, the Russian diplomat said. In this context, the role of Egypt can only be hailed: Egypt has decided to promote the resumption of the negotiating process and take on a role in the process of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, as well as partaking in the training of law-enforcement agencies of the Palestinian authority, Kalugin said.
In his opinion, the sides' attempts to find a pretext for their inactivity present a special danger. Such an approach can further impede the normalization process, throw new obstacles in the way of unblocking the conflict, said the special envoy of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
