Spokesman for Belarusian Foreign Ministry Pavel Latushka answers BELTA question on statement of "the four " on Middle East settlement (press release by MFA press service)

Question:

How can Belarusian Foreign Ministry evaluate statement adopted by "the four" on Middle East settlement on April 10, 2002 in Spain?

Answer:

We support collective will of international community expressed in joint statement of "the four" on Middle East settlement (UN, Russia, USA, EU) on necessity of immediate steps by both parties - the Palestinian autonomy and Israel - to stop violence escalation in the region.

We support proposals of "the four" on withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian cities and towns, including Ramallah, where the headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat are situated.

At the same time we support expressed in the statement urge to Mr. Arafat and the Palestinian National Administration to take all the efforts possible to immediate stop terrorist attacks against peaceful Israeli citizens.

All these proposals correspond to the spirit and letter of the last resolutions of the UN Security Council, which should be strictly observed.

I would like to once again underline that we resolutely condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We support settlement of Middle East problems only peacefully by means of negotiations.