Lavrov suggests Mideast ministerial peace conference

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov backed a Palestinian proposal for a Middle East peace conference, saying that it could be held at the UN at the ministerial level in spring or summer, the Euronews reported.

Recalling that Moscow had backed Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas' idea for international talks in early 2021 when he first proposed it in September, Lavrov offered ideas about who could be invited.

"We propose holding an international, ministerial-level meeting in spring-summer 2021," Lavrov told a videoconference UN Security Council meeting about the Middle East.

Participants would include the Israeli regime, the Palestinians, the four members of the so-called Middle East diplomatic quartet (Russia, the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union), along with four Arab states -- Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates, Lavrov said.

"It would also be important to invite Saudi Arabia, which is behind the Arab peace initiative," he added, without offering a specific date or site for the eventual conference.

"This meeting could provide a platform for carrying out a complete analysis of the situation, and helping countries to launch a dialogue," Lavrov told the Security Council.

He noted that Moscow remained ready to host a meeting between the Israeli regime and the Palestinians in the Russian capital "at the highest levels."