U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Rome for talks on the Middle East.
Speaking during the December 14 meeting, Lavrov said urgent action was needed to prevent the situation between Israel and the Palestinians from degrading further.
The talks were also expected to cover Ukraine and Syria.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said Lavrov could raise at the talks Moscow’s concerns about legislation passed by the U.S. Congress.
The bill authorizes lethal aid for Ukraine and new sanctions against Russia.
Kerry will meet with the Israeli prime minister in Rome on December 15 as European states push for a deal on Palestinian statehood.
He will head to Paris later for talks with the EU foreign policy chief as well as the French, German, and British foreign ministers.
The tree countries are drafting a United Nations resolution which calls for a return to negotiations aimed at achieving a two-state solution by which Israel and a Palestinian state would coexist.
Kerry will then fly to London on December 16 to meet with the chief Palestinian negotiator and the head of the Arab League.
