Question: What is Russia's attitude to the recent statements by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in which he has cast doubt on the authority of the Quartet of international mediators in the Middle East settlement and played down the value of the Road Map, drafted by the Quartet?

Answer: We've taken note of these tough statements of the Israeli Prime Minister. In the big picture, there's nothing unexpected or new in them for us. This kind of statements we had heard from the Israeli side before.

But the main thing we think is to clearly realize that it is in the interests of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples to end all the violence immediately and strive to advance towards the sought-for objective as soon as possible: a peaceful and secure coexistence of two sovereign states - Israel and Palestine. It is this prospect that is set into UN Security Council resolution 1397, which, by the way, simultaneously confirmed also the international legal status of the Quartet.

It should be recalled that the Quartet has invariably demonstrated a unanimous mind-set in favor of the speediest overcoming of the present crisis. It was on this basis that in December of last year the full ministerial meeting in Washington of Russia, the US, EU and UN agreed upon the Road Map, which is a balanced and compromise document fixing the major guideposts for advancing towards the establishment of a Palestinian state and towards a comprehensive Arab-Israeli settlement, taking into account the interests of all the parties.

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