Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami plans to discuss the Middle East crisis during a Russian visit on Tuesday, official sources here told Interfax news agency on Friday.
Ben Ami had put off his trip twice, originally due to start Monday, because of the domestic political crisis in Israel.
Israel's foreign minister was expected to use his 48-hour trip to discuss the situation in the Middle East after two months of Israeli-Palestinian violence that have left around 300 people dead, most of them Palestinians.
Russia, along with the United States, is a co-sponsor of the moribund Middle East peace process, although its influence in the region has waned considerably in recent years.
In a bid to strengthen Moscow's position, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat last week and brokered a telephone conversation between him and Barak.
Russia proposed holding an international conference to mediate a peace accord between the warring sides, the top Palestinian envoy in Moscow has told AFP. But the idea has been rejected by Israel.
Moscow also backed Palestinian demands fiercely resisted by Israel that international observers be dispatched to the Palestinian territories and Jerusalem to monitor a ceasefire accord, according to the diplomat -- MOSCOW (AFP)
© 1969 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
