Russia's Foreign Ministry on Saturday hailed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an end to hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah as a strong foundation for reaching peace, but emphasized the need to revive the stalled Middle East peace process to avoid further conflict. Drafted by France and the United States, the resolution unanimously adopted Friday calls for the immediate cessation of more than four weeks of fighting and authorizes the deployment of 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws. The resolution's approval marked an «important first step in ending this extremely dangerous crisis,» the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. «We expect all parties to strictly abide by this U.N. Security Council decision,» it said. It added that while the conflict in Lebanon was sparked by the July 12 capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah, it was rooted «in the lack of a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East.» «Therefore, one of the main goals of the world community should be the concentration of efforts on creating conditions for the resumption of the peace process in the region on all tracks,» the ministry said. «One of the urgent tasks in that context is the normalization of the situation on the Palestinian territories and the resumption of dialogue between the Palestinian National Authority and Israel.» Russia is a member of the so-called Quartet of international mediators for Middle East peacemaking, along with the United States, the United Nations and the European Union. The Quartet sponsored the 2003 «road map» peace plan that has stalled, according to a report of the Associated Press.
