Russian top diplomat emphasizes Israeli-Palestinian settlement remains deadlocked

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. Settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains deadlocked and it is sliding towards further radicalization, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted at an annual news conference on Monday. "The Syrian settlement is only part of very formidable complexities of the Middle East’s problems. I should note both Libya and Yemen, and I have already mentioned the Israeli-Palestinian settlement, which has reached a stalemate," he said when speaking about the situation in the Middle East. Russia’s foreign minister said he is thoroughly convinced that the impasse to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affects progress towards the creation of a Palestinian state and leads to "the radicalization of the Arab street." Earlier on Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said at the conference of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Committee in Ramallah, that "Israel had ceased" fulfilling the Oslo Accords signed in 1993, and accused the United States and Israel of breaking down the peace process. Moscow has repeatedly called for a resumption of direct dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians as a platform for a stable settlement to the conflict. However, the Israeli side says that the Palestinian initiative to convene an international conference to solve the conflict with Israel puts off the launch of direct talks. Read more