Moscow Hails Legal Framework of Palestine Premiership

Moscow believes the legal framework of the prime minister's post in Palestine creates real chances for normalising the situation in the Middle East. The statement of Deputy Spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Boris Malakhov remarks these actions fully comply with the Quartet's road map for settling the Mideast situation.

In the past few days, the top officials of the PLO and PNA took some important steps to provide a legal framework to the Prime Minister's post in Palestine. After adopting a principled decision on this score, the Palestinian Legislative Council introduced relevant amendments to the Fundamental Law and defined the authority of the Palestinian premier.

According to the Russian side, these steps testify to the practical determination of the Palestinian side to promote reforms - the process that Russia intends to assist. Moscow expects the future head of the cabinet to continue carrying out specific measures in this direction, above all to reorganise the power apparatus and foster security.

"We are convinced that now there is a real opportunity to normalise the situation and start the negotiating process," stressed Malakhov. In this connection, he expressed the hope Israel would make reciprocal steps towards defusing tensions around Palestinian territories and create conditions for changing the situation for the better.