There will be no progress in Middle East peace talks without a "reasonable" Israel decision on Jewish settlement activity, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday.
"It is obvious that without some sort of reasonable (Israeli) decision concerning their settlement activity, there will be no progress," the Russian leader said during a press conference with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank town of Jericho.
"It is impossible to close your eyes to this fact."
It is Medvedev’s first visit to the West Bank.
The Russian leader flew in to Amman then drove across the Allenby Bridge border crossing before arriving in the oasis town of Jericho for talks with Abbas focused on the crisis in peace talks with Israel.
There was a festive atmosphere as the president drove into town, with the streets lined with Russian and Palestinian flags, and posters of the two leaders fluttering in the breeze.
The trip is a rare Middle East visit for Medvedev, who is being accompanied by hundreds of Russian businessmen, and was on Wednesday to hold similar talks with Jordan's King Abdullah in Amman.
He had also been due to visit Israel but postponed the trip after a strike by employees with the Israeli foreign ministry.
Medvedev was also expected to open a Russian-funded museum housing Palestinian antiquities during his brief visit to the town.
But the main focus of the trip was for the Russian leader to talk with Abbas about the peace process.
"The talks with the Palestinian leadership follow the logic of Russia's fundamental commitment to reinvigorate international efforts to stabilise the situation and achieve peace in the Middle East," the Kremlin has said in a statement ahead of the visit.
Russia, which is one of the four members of the Middle East peace Quartet along with the United States, European Union and United Nations, has traditionally competed with Washington for influence as a power broker in the region.
The last time a Russian leader visited the West Bank was in 2005, when former president and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin paid a visit to the region.
Medvedev's top foreign policy adviser Sergei Prikhodko said Russia was not so ambitious as to believe it could single-handedly re-start the peace talks.
"That would be a very high hurdle," he said. "We do not consider ourselves a messiah."
"We are ready to demonstrate a responsible approach and share that responsibility with everyone."