PRESS RELEASE

On May 22, a telephone conversation between Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and PNA Head Mahmoud Abbas took place at the Palestinian side's initiative.

They thoroughly discussed the current situation in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process with emphasis on a search for ways to resume negotiations on the generally recognized international legal basis.

Mahmoud Abbas voiced appreciation for the Russian leaders' consistent principled line on the question of creating a Palestinian state within the borders set on the 1967 lines and with a capital in East Jerusalem. He also briefed on his recent contacts within the framework of Palestinian structures and in the League of Arab States to work out a consolidated position in the context of developments in Middle East affairs.

The sides were unanimous in highly evaluating the agreement reached with Egyptian mediation on inter-Palestinian reconciliation and underlined the importance of this step for realizing Palestinian national aspirations and securing an effective outcome of the peace process.

Mahmoud Abbas expressed satisfaction with the inter-Palestinian meeting to further deepen the Cairo agreement that is being held in Moscow these days at the invitation of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The PNA Head also reaffirmed support for Russia's position on the need to convene a Quartet ministerial meeting soon.

May 23, 2011