Stockholm - The foreign ministers of Russia and Sweden Wednesday discussed bilateral ties as well as international issues and expressed their "concern over the alarming situation" in Gaza, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said. Bildt, who recently visited the region, hosted his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov who also had a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.
Lavrov had earlier told reporters in the southern Swedish city Malmo that the so-called Middle East Quartet of international negotiators was due to meet in Cairo June 26-27.
Composed of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia, the quartet has has led negotiations on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 2002.
"We need to put an end to violence," Lavrov said in Stockholm.
At the upcoming quartet meeting in Cairo, Lavrov said Russia would propose a conference aimed at seeking a "long-term framework" for the resolution of the crisis.
"We should not allow any external forces to compromise the situation and influence the choices which have been made by the Palestinian people. The support and assistance should be provided to the national unity government," Lavrov said.
Bildt and Lavrov said they also discussed Kosovo. Lavrov repeated Moscow's stance that Russia, like Serbia, opposes UN proposals for internationally-supervised independence for Kosovo.
The UN Security Council was due to discuss the future status of the Serbian breakaway province of Kosovo.
"I do hope that reason will prevail," Lavrov said, adding that Russia was not a co-sponsor of any resolution on Kosovo but it was up to the "co-sponsors to demonstrate a responsible approach."
During his talks with Reinfeldt, Lavrov said he had assured the Swedish government that a planned natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea would fully take into account environmental concerns.
Nord Stream, a Russian-German joint-venture company, that is undertaking studies on the most suitable route has envisaged the 1,200-kilometre pipeline to go online in 2010. It would run from Viborg in Russia to Greifswald, Germany.
