Russia Says Gaza Violence Could Lead To Reforms

MOSCOW, July 19 (AFP) - Russia put a brave face Monday on the latest wave of violence gripping the Gaza Strip, with the foreign minister saying the security crisis was only likely to lead to productive reforms.
"Every cloud has a silver lining," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying by Interfax during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
"We think the current crisis in the Palestinian territories will lead to reforms that could allow international negotiators to more actively push on the Palestinians and the Israelis for the establishment of a Palestinian state," he said.
Russia is part of an international quartet that has been pushing for the now stalled "road map" aimed at creating a united Palestinian state within three years.
Moscow has developed closer relation with Israel since its alliance with the Arab world in the Soviet era, but its influence in the region has waned.
The Gaza Strip has been hit by violence ahead of a planned Israeli pullout from the region, with rival groups jostling for power, the resignation of prime minister Ahmed Qorei and Yasser Arafat appointing his cousin as the new security chief.
Arafat's decision provoked mass street protests and attacks.