MOSCOW, 13 January 2022, (TON): Russian Foreign Minister’s Special Representative for a Middle East Settlement Vladimir Safronkov held separate telephone conversations with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Thor Vennesland and EU Special Representative for a Middle East Settle-ment Sven Koopmans, the parties confirmed the importance of convening a meeting of the Middle East Quartet at the ministerial level.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement “in this context, the importance of convening a meeting of the Quartet at the ministerial level and establishing close interaction of this mechanism with the Palestinians, Israelis and key regional players was confirmed.”

As indicated in the ministry, a discussion of the situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and possible collective steps along the line of the Middle East “quartet” of international mediators including Russia, US, UN and EU took place.