Russian FM to visit Mideast

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Syria, Israel and the Palestinian Territories between March 19 and 21 to prepare a Middle East peace conference in

Moscow, the ministry said on Tuesday.

Lavrov will also discuss how to end the current humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and the possibility of including Syria in Middle East peace talks, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Following recent violence in the Gaza Strip "many of our partners have confirmed their interest in holding an international meeting on the Middle East in Moscow," the statement said.

The meeting is aimed at "helping stop the beginning of the unraveling of the peace process and to give the parties a chance to further their negotiations" started at US-sponsored talks in Annapolis, near Washington, it added.