Russia concerned over fresh clashes in Jerusalem

Moscow, Feb 11 (UNI) Russia has voiced concern over the clashes between Israeli police and Muslims who have been protesting against Israeli excavations near the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

''The new intensification of tensions between the two sides on a sensitive issue like religious shrine threatens to lead to a new round of Palestinian-Israeli confrontation and kill prospects for the resumption of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority,'' the official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement.

Stressing on the need to revive normalcy in Jerusalem in order to peacefully hold the February 19 meeting of the leaders of both the nations, Mr Kamynin said, ''Such escalation will not only endanger inter-Palestinian agreements reached in Mecca, but also the meeting between Palestinian authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.'' ''It is important now to stop actions that can provoke an outbreak of confrontation in Palestinian-Israeli relations at a time when the sides have to make steps towards each other,'' he stressed.

''The status of Jerusalem is among questions that should be solved through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the final status of Palestinian territories,'' he further pointed out.

''We think it necessary for the warring sides to refrain from unilateral steps that can exacerbate the situation on the most delicate track of Arab-Israeli settlement,'' Kamynin added.

UNI