Middle East Situation Cannot Be Settled By A Single Country By Itself

It is obvious to everybody today that the situation in the Middle East cannot be settled by a single country by itself. The Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov said this to journalists Friday. In the minister's words, to break "the vicious circle which has evolved in the Middle East, the sides must coordinate their efforts to put an end to violence and resume the peace talks." Igor Ivanov pointed out that the escalation of violence in the Middle East did not only threaten the interests of the states of the region but could also have grave consequences for both regional and international stability. In Ivanov's opinion, the peace process in the Middle East is thrown back for years. "It is hard to say for how many years, but it is thrown back to the times of the Madrid conference, and considerable efforts will be needed to restore it," Ivanov said. According to the minister, there Washington and European capitals are well aware of this. What is needed now is to coordinate all countries' efforts and to start all-round work aimed to settle the situation, Ivanov stressed. In his opinion, this is still possible today.

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