Russia intends to increase its efforts to promote peace in the Middle East, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and envoy to the region Alexander Saltanov said on Monday.
"It is important to continue efforts to promote Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, which should lead to the creation of a Palestinian state," Saltanov said in an interview with RIA Novosti after a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Muallem in Damascus.
The minister said Russia had plans to host a conference on the Middle East in the near future, but that "productive circumstances" were needed for the plans to take shape.
Saltanov arrived in Damascus on Sunday after holding talks with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, parliament speaker Nabih Berri and Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami.
In the Syrian capital, the Russian Middle East envoy met for talks with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. Unlike Western powers, Russia maintains official contacts with the Islamist movement.
"Our interlocutors both in Damascus and Beirut share Moscow's view that it is necessary to increase our collective efforts to improve the atmosphere around Middle East settlement," he said.
Direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, the latest attempt to revive the stalled peace process, came to a standstill after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend a partial moratorium on settlement construction in occupied Palestinian territories. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has demanded a complete settlement freeze as a precondition for the resumption of the talks.
Russia hosted a meeting of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators comprising Russia, the EU, the United Nations and the United States in March and organized an international Middle East conference in Malta on December 9-10.
DAMASCUS, December 13 (RIA Novosti)
