Moscow urges Israel and Palestinians to ‘negotiate directly’ after Trump plan

Russia on Tuesday called on Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate directly to find a “mutually acceptable compromise” after US President Donald Trump unveiled his controversial Middle East plan.

“We must enter direct negotiations to reach a mutually acceptable compromise. We do not know if the American proposal is mutually acceptable or not. We must wait for the reaction of the parties,” Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian news agencies.

“The important thing is that Palestinians and Arabs express their opinion,” he said, adding that Moscow would study the US plan.

Palestinian leaders had already resoundingly rejected Trump’s plan when he presented it alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a White House press conference.

No Palestinian official was present at the launch.

Trump said the proposal would present “a realistic two state solution”, but the plan includes numerous concessions to Israel that are likely to be untenable to Palestinians.

Netanyahu is expected to visit Moscow on Wednesday to present the plan to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia has repeatedly said it was prepared to host direct talks between the Israeli and Palestinian camps.