Russia has said that its hosting of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation contact group on Israel and Palestine has taken place “against the backdrop of the deteriorating situation on the Palestinian side of the Middle East settlement.”

Speaking in Moscow alongside Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters a delegation from the ministerial contact group OIC was in Russia for two days of talks.

Lavrov claimed that the meetings were held in response to a number of recent negative developments in Israeli-Palestinian relations.

"Today's meeting was held against the backdrop of the deteriorating situation on the Palestinian side of the Middle East settlement, the degrading situation in the Palestinian territories and the worsening crisis in the city of Jerusalem, which is sacred to three of the world's major religions," the foreign minister said. 

Lavrov promised that his country sought to resume the work of the Quartet on the Middle East – the UN, Russia, the U.S., and the EU, in negotiating a satisfactory settlement to the conflict.

The Russian minister said that a decision had been made at 8 February's Munich conference on security to "intensify" the contacts between the Quartet, the OIC, and "key Arab states."

AA