Moscow welcomes Israel-Palestine ceasefire

Russia has welcomed a cease-fire in the Gaza conflict and has called for the continuation of "energetic collective work" to renew a constructive dialogue between Israel and Palestine.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire Thursday, halting a bruising 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, brought life in much of Israel to a standstill and left more than 200 people dead.

"Moscow notes with deep satisfaction that a ceasefire was implemented in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone," the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign ministry Maria Zakharova said at a weekly press briefing on Friday.

"As the permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and the member of the Quartet, Russia urges partners to continue the energetic collective work to renew a constructive Palestinian-Israeli dialogue," she added.

Zakharova said that achieving a sustainable, fair settlement for the Palestinian problem was the main precondition for stabilising the Middle East region.