The Middle East Quartet mediators support recent proposals by U.S. President Barack Obama on the peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
In a landmark speech at the State Department on Thursday, Obama said “the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.”
The U.S. president believes these steps could lead to the resumption of peace talks between Israel and Palestinians.
“Members of the Quartet [UN, EU, Russia, the United States] agree that the progress in dealing with borders and security issues could eventually lead to a final resolution of the conflict through serious and purposeful talks between the Israelis and Palestinians and mutual agreements on key issues,” the ministry said on Friday on its website.
“The Quartet again calls upon both sides [in the conflict] to overcome the existing obstacles and resume direct bilateral talks without any delays and preconditions,” the ministry said.
Direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, which resumed last September after a 20-month standoff, collapsed three weeks later when Israel refused to stop construction in the occupied West Bank.
MOSCOW, May 21 (RIA Novosti)