Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    RAMALLAH, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that it was necessary to hold a peace conference on the Middle East in Moscow as soon as possible.

    "The peace process needs a complete calm and an end of all settlement activities in the Palestinian territories," Abbas said at a joint press conference with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is on a regional tour aimed at pushing forward the stalled Mideast peace process.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) during their joint news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah March 21, 2008. (Xinhua/Ruters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    "We ask Mr. Lavrov to talk about the calm and ending settlements with other parties," Abbas said.

    "Mr. Lavrov's visit is part of bilateral relations and part of Russia's role to push forward the peace process," he said.

    Abbas also said that he discussed with Lavrov "the Russian support to the Palestinian Authority, the internal Palestinian situation and the ongoing dialogue between Hamas and Fatah in Yemen."

    "I hope the dialogue in Yemen will succeed. We totally accept the Yemeni initiative for reconciliation," Abbas said. "We haven't reached an agreement, and I instructed to our delegation to stay in Yemen until Saturday."

    "I hope by Saturday we will have something positive out of the talks," he said.

    Since Wednesday, delegations from rival Abbas' Fatah and Hamas have been engaged in dialogue in Yemen in an attempt to resolve an internal Palestinian conflict that reached its peak in June 2007,when Hamas routed Fatah and took over Gaza.

    Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has presented a seven-point initiative to leaders of Hamas and Fatah, which suggested a reversion to the pre-June 2007 situation and holding early presidential and legislative elections.

    The two movements, however, have failed to reach an agreement so far.

    For his part, Lavrov called on Israel to end the blockade imposed on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip "in order to enable the Palestinian people live a normal life."

    He also expressed his country's concerns over the Israeli continuation of settlement construction.

    Lavrov told reporters that Russia was preparing for holding a peace conference in Moscow, adding the agenda of the conference will be an extension to the results of the U.S.-hosted Annapolis peace conference last November.

    Lavrov didn't say when the conference on the Middle East peace will be held in Moscow, but he said that Russia was cooperating with the International Quartet and some Arab countries to prepare for the conference.

    Russia is one of the four-party Quartet, which also includes the U.S., the UN and the EU. The Quartet has been a major mediator over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

    "Russia still support the peace process and will offer all possible help to the Palestinian side and will cooperate with other parties to implement what had been agreed upon in Annapolis," said Lavrov.

    Lavrov, who arrived in the Syrian capital on Wednesday to star this regional tour, had visited Syria and Israel before coming to Palestinian territories.

    Russia is discussing the convening of a Middle East meeting with the Palestinians, Israel, countries involved in mediating the conflict and members of the Arab League, Russia's RIA news agency reported on Tuesday.

    The conference is being arranged to stop setbacks in the peace process and give concerned parties a chance to deliver their Annapolis commitments, it added.

    The Palestinian-Israeli peace talk was resumed last December following a U.S.-hosted peace conference in Annapolis. But so far it had produced no significant result.