Arafat's deportation will jeopardize peace process

Deporting Yasser Arafat out of Palestine as the Israeli government suggests will greatly jeopardize the peace process in the region, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said after a meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Jean Obeid.

According to the Russian diplomat, the purpose of his working visit to Beirut was to consult with top leaders of the Lebanese Foreign Ministry on a wide scope of international issues, including the Mideastern situation, Iraqi settlement, and the agenda of the 58th session of the UN General Assembly.

The talks had revealed full similarity of Russia and Lebanon's opinions that it is necessary to activate the role of the UN in postwar settlement and restoration of Iraq, he said.

Touching on the situation with Palestinian territories, the sides had emphasized the importance of bringing more pressure to bear on the sides to the Arab-Israeli conflict lest the peace process should be utterly thwarted, with the purpose of settling the problem and ensuring all-embracing and lasting peace.

In Fedotov's opinion, the way out of the dangerous situation in Israel and Palestine is to take extra decisions to make the conflicting sides fulfil their commitments, including those stipulated in the Roadmap Plan.