On July 20, in the course of the Tenth Emergency Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly a resolution was adopted concerning an advisory opinion received from the UN International Court of Justice regarding the construction by Israel of a "separation barrier" in the occupied Palestinian territories. Russia, like the overwhelming majority of UN members, backed up this resolution.

Russia has repeatedly stressed that the parties in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict ought to refrain from unilateral steps and actions, including the construction of a separation barrier, which would predetermine the parameters for a final settlement.

We note with satisfaction that as a result of the collective work a constructive, well-balanced character was imparted to the text of the resolution. The General Assembly, among other things, called on both the Government of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority to immediately implement their obligations under the Road Map, an unalternative plan yet for gradual settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, backed by UN Security Council resolution 1515. Thus, a weighty signal is sent to both the sides to continue actually implementing the Road Map in cooperation with the Quartet of major international mediators, Russia, the US, UN and EU.

We expect that the adopted resolution will be instrumental in the resumption of a political process and achievement of a Palestinian-Israeli and a comprehensive regional settlement based on UN Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 1397 and 1515.