MOSCOW, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Moscow is ready to cooperate with the United
States in creating an external monitoring mechanism to ensure the fulfillment of
the Road Map in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander
Yakovenko said Friday.
It is especially impo
rtant to set up the mechanism "for monitoring the
implementation of obligations assumed by Israel and Palestine in accordance with
the Road Map", given "the acute situation and the persistent lack of trust
between the conflicting parties" that prevent the formation of reconciliation,
said Yakovenko.
The spokesman made the comment in view of Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov's
upcoming visit to Middle East countries, which is scheduled for July 13-17,
Interfax reported Friday.
"We welcome the efforts the United States is making in this area and we are
ready to join them," he said, urging an acceleration of the transition to the
second stage of the Road Map, during which an independent Palestinian state
should be proclaimed.
Yakovenko also said it is necessary "to begin seriously thinking on how to
restore negotiation dynamics in the Syrian and Lebanese sectors of the peace
process."
Ivanov will visit Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and territories controlled
by the Palestinian Authority, planning to discuss issues relating to the
completion of the first stage of the Road Map, the non-proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction, the situation in Iraq, the spokesman said.
"Russia has traditional relations of political dialogue and versatile
cooperation with all the countries the minister is to visit," said Yakovenko,
expressing his belief that the development of bilateral relations will
contribute to stabilization in the Middle East.
Ivanov and United States Secretary of State Colin Powell have confirmed
their joint commitment during a telephone conversation Tuesday to constantly
push the Middle East peace process forward, primarily within the Quartet of
international mediators that also include the United Nations and the European
Union. End
