Russia supports Palestine's bid for an enhanced UN status at a General Assembly vote later this week, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

"It has been reported many times that the Russian Federation will vote for the resolution given its principled approach," the ministry said in an online statement.

On Thursday, the UN General Assembly is expected to vote on a draft resolution submitted by the Palestinians, which demands the status of a non-member observer state for Palestine at the world body.

"We support the resolution because the Palestinians do not consider such a step as an alternative to the peace process in the Middle East, and this is directly written in the draft," the ministry noted.

Russia has stressed that current international efforts must be focused on the immediate resumption of direct Palestinian-Israeli talks over the final status issue.

"Russia is going to facilitate that during bilateral contacts, in the UN, in the Middle East Quartet, and calls for the Quartet's sooner ministerial meeting," the ministry said.

Currently, Palestine is regarded as an observer "entity" at the United Nations. Acceptance of Palestine as a non-member state, similar to the Vatican's UN status, would implicitly recognize the Palestinian statehood.

The upgrade could also grant the Palestinians access to bodies like the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where they could file complaints against Israel, the occupying power.

Israel and its closest ally, the United States, oppose the Palestinian move at the United Nations. Endi

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