India keen on restoration of peace between Israel and Palestine: Tharoor

NEW DELHI - Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Friday said that India is keen to witness the restoration of peace between Palestine and Israel.

After his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Tharoor said, “India has been a very strong supporter of two-state solution. We have been behind the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council resolutions on Palestine. We would like to see Palestine and Israel living side by side behind secure borders in prosperity and peace. Where we can be helpful is certainly something we continue discussing with our friends.”

“We have had a good conversation about that. At the appropriate time, we can certainly take the right steps. At this point, we are very happy to be in a careful listening mode, and we are certainly very pleased with the quality and substance of dialogue we had with the President (Mahmoud Abbas),” added Tharoor.

India has pledged support for Palestine in its struggle for self-determination and resolution of tensions in the region through dialogues.

Palestine Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said, “The idea is really to brief the leadership (of India) about the political situation and also to listen from them their advice, and based on talks we will determine our ways forward.”

“At the same time, of course, we are really focused on our bilateral relations. Our bilateral relations are excellent but still, you know, we are keen to even deepen further such relations, and we have discussed many potential areas of cooperation in the future, he added. (ANI)