Washington does not lose hope to hold Mideast PEACE conference

Washington "does not lose hope that it will be possible to hold an international conference at the level of ministers for the Mideast settlement in the near future," said US Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow in Moscow on Thursday. The ambassador also expressed the hope that such a conference would help "find a way to a resumption of peace negotiations." Alexander Vershbow believes at the same time that the first such meeting will probably become a "preparatory one for further sessions of that group." The work of the international conference on the Mideast will be defined by its results and the possibilities that will appear in the halting or discontinuance of acts of terrorism in the Middle East, said the Ambassador in conclusion.