Moscow is ready to become a new mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict, Russia’s deputy UN envoy Vladimir Safronkov said on Monday, according to Russia Today.
He added that Russia is ready to host direct talks between the two sides.
His comments came during a UN Security Council meeting in which the United States vetoed a proposed resolution calling for the withdrawal of President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Russia is ready to become “an honest mediator” in the Middle Eastern peace process, Nebenzia said, calling on all parties to “show restraint” and refrain from any provocative actions.
He also said that any unilateral action could exacerbate the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, making the already complicated peace process even more difficult.
Nebenzia also said that the issue of Jerusalem is “the most sensitive issue in the [Israeli-Palestinian peace process] architecture.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said earlier this year that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to host an Israeli-Palestinian summit to revive the talks.
Several days later, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Putin held a telephone conversation in which they discussed the peace process, among other things, though a Kremlin spokesman later clarified there was "nothing concrete" yet on a meeting between Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov subsequently said his country is waitingfor Israeli and Palestinian Arab proposals on holding a direct meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu.
