Israel, Palestine must take real steps to settle conflict : Russia

Moscow, Feb 21 (UNI) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavorv has said Israel and Palestine must take real steps to settle their conflict.

In a an interview to the government-controlled daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta, published today, Mr Lavrov said Moscow will insist on the lifting of economic restrictions imposed by Israel during the meeting of the 'Quartet' of international mediators on West Asia settlement in Berlin today.

''I hope that the Quartet will back the agreement to form a new Palestinian government and it will voice its support for the lifting of financial and economic restrictions imposed by Israel,'' he said, adding ''At least, this will be the position of Russia, the European Union and the UN Secretary General.'' ''Russia will actively advocate further direct contacts between Mahmoud Abbas and Ehud Olmert, contacts that would not deal solely with the opening of this or that checkpoint, but aim to negotiate what the Quartet has called a political horizon for Palestine. In fact, these are the issues of the future of the Palestinian state,'' he noted.

Stressing that the practice of mutual reproaches would not lead to constructive results, Mr Lavrov said it was clear that moving forward at a snail's speed, stopping each time and looking back at who opened fire at whom, who crossed into whose air space and when, who began building new settlements and when, and who was repairing a bridge, would be 'counterproductive.' ''These are petty provocations - petty, compared with the key task of forming a Palestinian state,'' he said.

''While going ahead at the level of experts and at the level of Israeli and Palestinian security services in settling these daily problems, one must start a strategic dialogue on what the Palestinian state will be like in the future. There are ample guidelines for that,'' Mr Lavrov added.

UNI