US Plays Role in 'Deadlocked' Palestinian Conflict - Russia's Foreign Minister

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains deadlocked partly because the United States has not formulated its position on the issue yet, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Sunday.

JEDDAH (Sputnik) —  Lavrov stated that the lack of clarity persisted even though US Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt has made numerous trips to the region.

"The situation around the settlement is, to put it mildly, deadlocked… Another reason should be stated: the United States has not formulated its positions on Israeli-Palestinian settlement yet, despite their special representative, who has already visited the region about 20 times," Lavrov said, following talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir in Jeddah.

According to the Minister, Moscow is talking to all parties, including the US special representative and Israel, and would like the Quartet on the Middle East to continue its work. Created in 2002, the quartet is comprised of Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations; its goal is mediating the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Israel and Palestine have been embroiled in a bitter dispute over territory and Palestine's sovereignty for decades, with many countries attempting to help broker peace. Many world politicians have stressed that the only viable solution to the conflict is the co-existence of two independent states, also known as a two-state solution.

The Arab Peace Initiative, calling for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from disputed territories in exchange for the normalization of the relationship with Arab countries, has been endorsed by the Arab League several times. However, Israel has remained skeptical of it. The Quartet endorsed the initiative in 2003.