Russian delegation visits Fayyad gathering facts to rejuvenate role of Quartet

Date: 14 / 09 / 2008  Time:  10:18
Ramallah – Ma’an –

Russian deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Sultanov, paid a visit to Palestinian Prime Minister for the caretaker government Salam Fayyad Saturday, as a step to help reactivate the Middle East Quartet when it meets during the next UN assembly in New York.

Sultanov was explicit in saying his visit was meant to gather information that might help empower the countries involved in the Quartet in a way that would guarantee their commitment to the rules of the political process and to achieve tactful issues on the ground. A primary aim, he said, was to ensure the halt of settlement construction and pressure Israel into removing the unsanctioned and illegal settlement outposts throughout the West Bank.

These steps, said Sultanov, would put the region on track with the first phases of the Road Map, and hopefully be the first steps to meaningful peace. He affirmed that Russia considers the settlement in the Palestinian territories illegitimate, and stated that Israel’s continued expansion of these settlements will put the future of any just solution at risk.

Sultanov indicated that Russia is still planning to hold a peace conference in Moscow when the time is right. Officials are discussing the matter with all sides and working towards putting in place mechanisms to develop the role of the Quartet in the conference.

During the meetings, Sultanov and the Russian delegation heard from Fayyad detailed accounts of the political situation in Palestine, and his assessment of the risks that are currently threatening the future of the political process.

Foremost among the risks was the continued settlement expansion and absence of any accountability for these decisions under the current political negotiations. Fayyad said plainly that “the passing of the time does not give these settlements any legitimacy,” and affirmed that these actions only make Palestinians cling harder to their demands for a state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“In the interest of protecting the future of the solution and peace, it’s time to question Israel and put an end to policies that turn backs on the peace process, international legitimacy and principles of the international law,” Fayyad told the Russian delegation.

Fayyad updated Sultanov on the efforts of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas since he announced his initiative in June aiming at restoring unity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip through the formation of a new transitional government.

This government, he explained, would be made of national figures and qualified independent individuals that would unify the organizations of the Palestinian Authority (PA). It would be authorized to run the country and to take care of the interests of the citizens while paving the way for simultaneous presidential and legislative elections.

Fayyad reiterated the demands of the PA of the necessity of making more international efforts to put an end to the Israeli security policies, and recognizing and assisting the PA in its own efforts of imposing law and order, which are repeatedly hampered by Israel. Help stabilizing the internal situation, he added, will also help stabilize the economy.

Part of this stabilization, he continued, will be a lifting of the siege in the Gaza Strip, and the “PA is ready to manage those crossings.”