Unofficial translation from Russian

The entire course of events bears out that a military solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is impossible. The status quo is absolutely not viable, since it does not correspond to the interests of either party. The Palestinians will not be able to achieve the creation of their state hearth, and the Israelis will not be in a position to ensure their national security.

Security Council Resolution 1515 was a unanimous call upon the parties in close cooperation with the Quartet of International Mediators to at once start implementing the Road Map, which has now acquired an international legal status. It is now important to restore a direct Palestinian-Israeli dialogue. Russia hopes that the speediest holding of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Head of the Palestinian Cabinet Ahmed Qurei will contribute to this.

In accordance with the Road Map the Palestinian Authority is called upon to take effective measures to end terrorist actions against the civilian population of Israel. We note the efforts taken in this regard by the Palestinian party with reliance upon the important assistance of Arab states, primarily Egypt.

The Israeli leadership, in its turn, is called upon to fulfill its set of obligations under the Road Map, namely - to renounce the disproportionate use of force and extrajudicial killings, to take effective steps for alleviating the economic burden of the Palestinian population and to remove such an obstacle to peace as settlement activities and the construction of a "separation wall." The UN Secretary General has expressly called for this in his report, pointing out that Israel has not been fulfilling the General Assembly's requirements. No one denies the right of Israel to protect its citizens, but this right should not be realized by tearing away other people's territories and should not run counter to the norms of international humanitarian law. Such actions must not be allowed to put in jeopardy the prospect of creating an integral and viable Palestinian state.

We understand the motives of the sponsors of the draft resolution, aimed at studying the legal consequences of the construction of the "wall." But that approach on a political plane would mean that the world community has put up with the current situation. In our conviction, however, at this stage all the efforts should be focused on stopping and reversing the construction of the "wall." This is demanded by Security Council Resolution 1515 and by General Assembly Resolution ES-10/13. All the Quartet members staunchly support this. There now should be no yielding up to despair, no creating the impression of an inevitability of a negative scenario, but the full arsenal of political means should be used instead, so as to ensure the implementation of the already adopted decisions after all. We are convinced that the General Assembly and Security Council should continue to closely monitor this process, rendering support to the Quartet's efforts.

Russia in close cooperation with the UN, US and EU will continue to work actively towards Palestinian-Israeli and comprehensive regional settlement on the basis of Security Council Resolutions 242, 338, 1397 and 1515.