MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia supports the renewal of the mandate of Middle East Quartet special envoy James Wolfensohn, Foreign Ministry official spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said Friday.
"We support the proposal to extend the mandate of James Wolfensohn, which ends on December 31, [2005], as special envoy of the [Middle East] quartet for rehabilitating the Palestinian economy," he said.
Russia and the other quartet mediators (the United States, the UN, and the EU) on the whole approve of the efforts of Wolfensohn's team in the Middle East, Kamynin said.
James Wolfenson, the former head of the World Bank, has been the Middle East Quartet's special envoy for Gaza disengagement since July 1, 2005. His main tasks include helping the Palestinian Authority develop its economy and coordinating non-military issues between the quartet, Israel, and Palestine.
