Putin advises Israel, Palestine to make concessions

MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin urged both parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to make concessions to each other. "Of course, the unceasing conflict cannot but worry us. That is why we remain in regular contact with senior officials in Palestine and Israel. We urge both parties to make concessions to each other and to search for common ground in order to normalize the situation," Putin said in an interview with Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram on the eve of his visit to Cairo. "We will further pursue this policy, both through bilateral channels and on various international platforms, first of all within the framework of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators, the activities of which should be intensified. We also consider it important to ensure close coordination of the Quartet's efforts with Egypt and other Arab countries," he said. "After a nine-month round of Israel-Palestine negotiations, held under the auspices of the USA, ended unsuccessfully in April 2014, relations between the parties have noticeably worsened. In summer, a bloody conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip broke out," Putin said. "In autumn, the unrest began in Jerusalem, caused, inter alia, by religious contradictions. Israel has simultaneously boosted settlement activities. Taken as a whole, this led to the aggravation of the situation in the whole Middle East and is fraught with further escalation of tension," he said. "The Palestinians seem to have lost their faith in a possibility to reach a compromise with the Israeli government in that situation. So they submitted to the UN Security Council a draft resolution on the parameters of a peaceful settlement," Putin said. "I would like to note that Russia voted in favor of this document together with some other members of the UN Security Council. However, it has not received the required majority of votes," he said. Read more