Palestinian-Israeli standoff reaches critical point

Moscow is concerned over the aggravating Mideastern situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Alexander Yakovenko told RIA Novosti here today.

In his words, the Palestinian-Israeli standoff has reached a critical point. Terrorists striving to create even more insurmountable obstacles in the way of the regional peace settlement are actively taking advantage of the continuing confrontation, Yakovenko went on to say.

In his opinion, Israel's kibbutzim programme as well as the construction of a security fence on Palestinian territories are not making it easier to restore trust either.

This confrontation also affects Syria and Lebanon neighbouring Israel. This is fraught with the threat of joining several regional crises into one, Moscow believes.

The high-ranking Russian diplomat called on Israel and Palestine to meet each other halfway for the sake of ending their armed confrontation and resuming the negotiating process.

We still proceed from the premise that the road-map peace plan, which was drafted by the four international mediators, is the only trouble-shooting option at this stage, Yakovenko said in conclusion.