MOSCOW, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and a joint delegation of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries agreed on the urgent need to establish an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza following their talks in Moscow on Tuesday.
The delegation was composed of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki and Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Hissein Brahim Taha.
All sides recognized a commonality in approaches with regard to ways in which the current crisis can be overcome, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the talks.
They expressed "a joint position in favor of an early establishment of a sustainable ceasefire," and stressed the importance of ensuring the protection of civilians, the opening of humanitarian corridors, the release of hostages, and continued evacuation efforts.
"While strongly condemning terrorism, the participants of the meeting emphasized the unacceptability of confronting this evil using methods of collective punishment and an indiscriminate use of force against civilian targets," the statement said.
All sides stressed the need to take coordinated measures in the interests of establishing lasting peace between Israel and Palestine, it said.
It was emphasized that "there is no alternative to a comprehensive political solution to the Palestinian problem based on the decisions of the United Nations and the Arab Peace Initiative," said the statement.
"They noted the need to intensify international efforts aimed at creating conditions for establishing negotiations between the parties," which should result in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, it said.
They further agreed to coordinate joint action in order to support a comprehensive Middle East settlement, the statement said. ■
