Palestine thankful to Russia for its active role in promoting settlement in Middle East

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/. Palestine is thankful to Russia for its active role in the Palestinian -Israeli settlement, Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki told the United Nations International Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace on Wednesday. "Palestine’s interests lie in reaching national accord between all interested political forces in the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as well as those outside of PLO, including our brothers in Hamas," al-Maliki said. "We are doing everything possible to consolidate this unity and avoid returning to separation," he added. "It is not easy, but we are doing everything possible to reach it," he noted. "Russia is a very close friends of the Palestinian people and leadership," the foreign minister said, adding that "we are thankful to Russia for all its efforts." "Russia plays an important role on the global arena, in particular in the UN Security Council," al-Maliki said. Talking about the pace of negotiations on settlement in the Middle East, the minister noted that "there is a deadlock" there now. "Russia’s role lies in reversing this tendency," the diplomat noted. Read more