Moscow hopes Israeli Cabinet will approves the "roadmap"

Moscow welcomes the emerging positive shift of Israel with regard to the plan of the Middle East settlement and hopes that the Israeli Cabinet will approve the "roadmap", said Russian Foreign Ministry official spokesman Aleksander Yakovenko Saturday in connection with the statement of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon regarding the "roadmap".

Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon stated that he agreed to implement steps stipulated by the "roadmap" to settle the Middle East crisis. The document drafted by the Quartet of international intermediaries (Russia, the US, the EU and the UN) would be submitted to the Israeli government for approval.

The Foreign Ministry's spokesman stated that "taking into account that the Palestinian side already agreed to implement that document, it became really possible to overcome the present stalemate and to launch practical realisation of the road map." He stressed that "Moscow was confident that the process of implementation of the "roadmap" accompanied by gradual restoration of trust would make it possible to alleviate the existing concerns. Certainly, progress towards peace would require close co-ordination within the framework of the "Quartet" which must remain the mechanism to enable the parties to overcome confrontation and develop the political process."