Moscow disappointed by Washington's blocking UN Middle East resolution

The Russian Foreign Ministry regrets that the UN Security Council failed to come to terms concerning the escalated crisis in the Middle East due to the murder of HAMAS leader Akhmed Yassin.

"We regret that the UN Security Council failed to come to terms concerning the current dangerous escalation of violence in the Middle East," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov announced on Friday.

Yesterday the USA used its right of veto to block the UN Security Council's resolution denouncing sheikh Yassin's murder. This was because the document did not say anything about terrorist attacks carried out by HAMAS militants in Israel, the US representative explained.

"Russia wanted the Council's response to sheikh Yassin's elimination to be balanced and, most importantly, aimed at preventing further escalation of tension," Fedotov said.

According to him, Moscow supported the draft resolution as it contained such principal moments as denunciation of all terrorist attacks on civil populations, calls on both parties to fulfill their obligations under the Road Map and to cooperate with the quartet of international mediators to advance the peace process.

At present it is vitally important that the international community should take coordinated steps to restore the negotiation process in the Middle East, the Russian diplomat emphasized.

© &to=http://www.rian.ru' target=_blank>RIAN