Russian President Dmitry Medvedev claimed Tuesday to have
secured the support of Israel
and all other involved parties for a Middle East peace
conference in Moscow.
A "Moscow
conference on the Middle East should become an important
stage in our actions" toward peace talks, Medvedev said in a speech to the
22-member Arab League in Cairo.
"Today we have principal agreement from all parties."
The Russian president also warned against forcing democracy
on Arab states and praised US
President Barack Obama's address to the Arab world, saying it showed more
tolerance.
"There are things to learn from the Arab world and therefore,
mentoring, forcing democracy and especially direct interference are absolutely
inadmissible," Medvedev said. "Understanding of this is growing in
the world. One example is President Barack Obama's speech."
Medvedev also said he supports a Palestinian state with east
Jerusalem as its capital as a
result of a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Earlier Tuesday, after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak, Medvedev told reporters that Egypt
was playing a constructive role in attempting to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict "to establish mutual confidence on this issue."
"Now the two sides are taking some steps and attempts
to resume the peace process and together with the international community we
support this trend," Medvedev said.
Russia
has aimed to be a key player in the Middle East peace
process and has promoted the idea of an international conference in Moscow
for the past year and a half. The plans have repeatedly stalled. Israel
and the United States
had resisted conference participation by Hamas, while Moscow
continues engagement with the group.
Mubarak backed the conference idea and said "we
consider any Russian effort as the correct way to peace."
Following Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to
Israel last year, government sources told The Jerusalem Post that Russia was
determined to go ahead with the Middle East conference whether Israel likes it
or not.
