Russia urges Israel to stop settlement construction in West Bank

UNITED NATIONS, February 19 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia urges Israel's
government to freeze construction of settlements in the West Bank, which
violates international law and hinders Palestinian-Israeli talks, Russia's
permanent representative at the United Nations Vitaly Churkin told a U.N.
Security Council session on Friday.
The U.N. Security Council on Friday failed to pass a resolution
condemning Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory. The United State
delegation vetoed the draft. The other 14 council members voted in favor
of the draft resolution. But the United States, as one of the five
permanent council members with the power to block any action by the
Security Council, voted against it and struck it down.
"The Russian Federation voted in favour of the draft resolution,
proceeding from its principled position: we accept no unilateral steps
prejudging the outcome of the talks on the final status," Churkin said.
"Unfortunately, today there were no unity among the Security Council
members and the draft was not adopted."
In his words, the problem of Israeli settlements "remains on the
agenda and will become ever more pressing."
"As a U.N. Security Council member and one of the four Middle East
mediators, Russia will continue to urge the sides to resume direct
dialogue, it will actively cooperate with regional and international
partners in efforts to find a fair and comprehensive peaceful settlement
in the region in line with U.N. Security Council resolutions, the Madrid
principles and the Arab peace initiative," the Russian diplomat stressed.
He also expressed the hope that "the Russian initiative to send the
Security Council's first-ever large-scale mission to the Middle East will
be an actual contribution to promoting the peace process." The initiative
was voiced by the Russian permanent representative on February 9, 2010.