Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he agrees with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that Israelis and Palestinians should begin direct talks to resolve the ongoing conflict.

Ban is currently on an official visit to Moscow to take part in a meeting of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators and met Lavrov on Thursday.

"We have highlighted the importance of doing everything possible at this stage to ensure renewed talks between the Israelis and Palestinians," Lavrov said after the meeting.

Ban said that after the Quartet's meeting in Moscow he will travel to Israel and Gaza. He intends to hold talks with both the Israelis and the Palestinians and evaluate the humanitarian situation in the region.

He added that there is no alternative to direct talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians and the UN will call on both to resume the negotiations.

Israel last week announced the go-ahead for the building of 1,600 housing units for Jewish families in the disputed area of East Jerusalem just as the Middle East peace talks were restarting after a 15-month break. The Palestinian authorities have threatened to halt negotiations unless the settlement building plans are abandoned.

Andrei Nesterenko, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, underlined earlier that Russia is against unilateral decisions that could prejudice the results of the peace talks. He added that the meeting of the Middle East Quartet in Moscow on Friday should allow a more objective discussion of the issues affecting progress towards a settlement in the region.

MOSCOW, March 18 (RIA Novosti)