Lavrov warns US over use of domestic agenda with Middle East Quartet

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned US Secretary of State John Kerry against the impact of Washington's domestic agenda on the Middle East Quartet and the UN Security Council.

Lavrov held a telephone conversation with his US counterpart yesterday.

The two officials exchanged opinions on developments in and around the Palestinian-Israeli conflict settlement.

Lavrov underscored the necessity of conditions for direct talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

He spotlighted harmful attempts to use these platforms for the Democrats' and Republicans' bickering.

They also discussed Syria settlement prospects in the light of the meetings of the Russian, Turkish and Iranian foreign and defence ministers in Moscow on December 20 and their understanding on the progress towards an all-Syrian ceasefire and stepping up anti-terrorist efforts.

As Lavrov stressed, the authorisation of deliveries of man-portable air-defence systems and other weapons to anti-government units, which is included in the law on the US defence budget signed by President Barack Obama on December 23, may lead to further escalation of tensions and to more victims.

The situation in Libya and Yemen was also discussed.

When the conversation concerned bilateral relations, Lavrov stressed again that the outgoing Obama administration was out to further undermine the basis of normal Russia-US cooperation, and that this policy was inadmissible.