"We and our partners will work in this direction," Mr. Putin said.
He underlined that Russia, as a co-sponsor of the Middle East settlement, will make all possible efforts together with its partners to ensure gradual implementation of the "road map" settlement plan.
According to Mr. Putin, none of the conflicting sides or intermediaries has come up with a better settlement plan.
Speaking about Russia's position on this issue after the death of Yasser Arafat, the head of the Russian state called "the consolidation of Palestinian leadership and creation of necessary conditions to conduct democratic reforms within the Palestinian autonomy" a priority.
Touching upon the situation in Iraq, the Russian President suggested involving Iraqi neighbors in the settlement process and starting a dialogue among various forces within the country.
Mr. Putin reminded the journalists that Russia had put forward an initiative to conduct an international conference on Iraq. "I think the upcoming meeting of foreign ministers in Sharm El Sheikh is a step in the right direction," he emphasized.
"We base our initiative to conduct an international conference on the necessity, in our opinion, to invite all interested countries, and primarily Iraq's neighbors, to participate in the peaceful settlement of the Iraqi crisis, and also to create a discussion panel for various forces within Iraq," Mr. Putin underlined.
"We also base our initiative on the experience of international cooperation in Afghanistan. Obviously, we cannot and will not impose our initiative on Iraqi authorities. We came up with this initiative as a result of a long search for possible solutions for the current situation," Mr. Putin explained.
Vladimir Putin also called for democratic elections in Iraq according to established schedule. The sooner Iraqi authorities create conditions for the people of Iraq to decide its own destiny, the sooner the process of "pushing the forces of international terrorism from the territory of this country" will start.
"Despite the complexity of the current situation, we are eager to make all possible efforts to help Iraqi people to establish peace, to return the country to peaceful development; and we hope that Iraq will become a democratic country, a friend and a partner of Russia," Mr. Putin emphasized.
"We always maintained friendly relations with Iraq. They have good traditions. And Russia is willing to make necessary contributions to the reconstruction of Iraq," the Russian President concluded.
