Russia opposes efforts to edge the UN Security...

Russia"s top diplomat arrived on Monday at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo to sign a memorandum on establishing a Russian-Arab cooperation forum.

"Russia is against the role of the UN and its Security Council being marginalized," Lavrov said.

The head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, said the decline of the UN"s role was a reason for the Mideast settlement being deadlocked.

"External mediation and assistance in the process came from a couple of countries or parties, and unfortunately the mediation failed to restart talks on a basis that would be acceptable for all," Moussa said.

The Arab official criticized the Mideast Quartet, comprising the UN, the EU, Russia and the U.S., for failing to come up with any solutions in the past four months, except for a road map and the decision to delegate a number of powers to former British premier Tony Blair.

Lavrov denied media speculation that Moscow"s plans to hold a Middle East conference were

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