The Russian leader's remarks were made on his first-ever visit to the occupied territories where he held talks in the oasis town of Jericho with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas.

The two men discussed ways to restart peace talks with Israel, with Medvedev saying it would only be possible through "compromise" while stressing there would be "no progress" without an Israeli decision on settlement building.

The trip was a rare Middle East visit for Medvedev, who arrived from Jordan accompanied by hundreds of Russian businessmen and was to return there on Tuesday evening ahead of talks on Wednesday with Jordan's King Abdullah.

AFP