Russia sees Middle East peace talks restarting

MOSCOW, Feb 16 (Reuters) Israel and the Palestinians are likely to agree to restart peace talks when their leaders meet on Feb 19, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today.

''We expect this meeting will yield agreements about restarting talks on a definite framework for a conclusive resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,'' RIA news agency quoted Lavrov as telling Russian journalists.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to bring Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert together for a three-way summit on Monday.

Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Abbas on the last leg of a West Asia tour of three US allies. Putin said he hoped economic sanctions against the Palestinian government would be lifted soon.

Reuters KR DB2131