Russia calls for resuming peace talks with Israeli from point at which they broke off

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on Thursday called upon Israel to resume peace talks with Syria from the point at which they broke off three years ago.

In a joint peace conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon, Ivanov stressed that Russia's position is to resume talks between Syria and Israel from the point where they stopped.

Ivanov is currently making a tour of the region which will cover Syria, Egypt, and the Palestinian self-rule areas.

Upon his arrival in Israel on Thursday, Ivanov toured on board a helicopter in the airspace of the occupied West Bank. He was accompanied by Sharon.

An Israeli official said through his tour of the West Bank, Sharon intended to acquaint the Russian minister with what Israel calls the "security zones" which it believes it has to keep in the context of a final agreement with the Palestinians.

Sharon and Prime Minister Netanyahu believe almost half of the territories of the occupied West Bank should remain under the Israeli control. Ivanov is scheduled to meet today with Netanyahu before he heads for Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.