国际英语新闻：Russia urges Israel to stop settlement construction

MOSCOW, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Jewish settlement activity has been a "key obstacle" to the full-fledged negotiation between Israel and Palestine, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Thursday on the TV channel Rossiya 24.

"It is absolutely necessary to halt all unilateral actions that might influence the outcome of the talks, above all, the settlement activity the Israeli government has been pursuing in breach of the UN Security Council resolutions," he said.

Moscow has been planning to "convene a ministerial meeting of the Quartet on the Middle East" that groups Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, said Lavrov.

"We have the understanding that our American partners, the European Union and the UN need the earliest possible resumption of (direct Israeli-Palestinian) contacts that would also involve representatives from Arabian countries and the League of Arab States," said Russia's top diplomat.

"This will help us discuss the situation and understand what is the main stumbling block, and to look into some, perhaps, nonstandard, creative ways to break the deadlock," he added.

The direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, resuming on Sept. 2, have been suspended due to Israel's rejection to extend moratorium on settlement buildings in West Bank.