Russia To Convene Mideast Quartet For Talks On West Bank Annexation Plans

Representatives of the so-called Middle East Quartet were set to meet Friday via video conference amid efforts by Moscow to deter Israel from annexing parts of the West Bank and bring the Palestinians back to talks. “Today, a video conference of the ‘Quartet’ on the Middle Eastern settlement will take place at the level of special representatives,” said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, according to the TASS news agency, adding that Russia will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin.

The Quartet is made up of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia. According to Channel 13, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East Mikhail Bogdanov spoke Thursday with the Israeli Chargé d’Affaires in Moscow, Eli Belotserkovsky, to update him on the planned conference call.

According to the report, senior Russian officials confirmed that Russia is seeking to promote an international conference with the participation of the quartet, several Arab nations and the Palestinians. It was unclear whether an invitation would be extended to Israel to attend the conference. The senior Russian officials said that Israel had been warned several times by Russia that unilateral annexation would lead to an escalation of violence. -Full Report