- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Moscow urges end to Mideast violence

Subscribe
Russia's Foreign Ministry has urged the parties to the Middle East conflict to end violence and resume efforts toward bringing stability to the region following Wednesday morning's fatal shelling of a residential area in the Gaza Strip by Israeli tanks.
MOSCOW, November 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Foreign Ministry has urged the parties to the Middle East conflict to end violence and resume efforts toward bringing stability to the region following Wednesday morning's fatal shelling of a residential area in the Gaza Strip by Israeli tanks.

Eighteen Palestinians, among them children, were killed, and over 40 wounded in the attack.

"Seeking to end bloodshed, we are appealing to both sides to stop exchanging strikes, which kill innocent civilians, and take prompt steps to stabilize the situation and resume political dialogue. There is no other logical alternative to this," the ministry said in a statement.

Israeli troops have been conducting a weeklong operation in Gaza to prevent Palestinian rocket fire on Israel. Dozens of people have been killed in the course of the incursion.

The ministry said the escalation of violence hampers efforts by the Palestinian Authority to form a new coalition government capable of launching a constructive dialogue with Israel.

The radical Palestinian organization Hamas and the moderate Fatah party, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, earlier reached an agreement on a political platform to form a new national unity government.

Russia has recently increased its pressure on Hamas to have it recognize Israel's right to exist, abandon violence and respect existing peace pacts after the militant Islamist grouping, blacklisted by many Western governments as a terrorist organization, won a landslide victory in legislative polls in January.

The ministry said responsibility for the bloodshed in Gaza partially lies with local extremist forces that continue to rocket Israeli cities, thereby provoking retaliatory strikes by Tel-Aviv.

The Foreign Ministry's special envoy to the Middle East said Wednesday that the Mideast Quartet of mediators, which includes Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, will gather November 16 in Cairo to discuss the Middle East.

"The Mideast situation will be discussed in Cairo," Sergei Yakovlev said.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала