By Edmund Blair
Reuters
Wednesday, April 27, 2005; 10:35 AM

CAIRO, April 27 -- Russia proposed on Wednesday an international conference in Moscow in a few months' time to seek a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The proposal won immediate backing from the Palestinians, but drew a wary response from Israel, which said it would oppose any effort to circumvent the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.

"We propose holding an international conference in Moscow in the coming autumn with the participation of all the states concerned and the quartet (of mediators)," Russian President Vladimir Putin told a news conference in Cairo.

He also said a meeting of the quartet -- Russia, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union -- would take place in Moscow on May 8 at the level of foreign ministers.

He said Middle East peace should be based on U.N. resolutions and on the road map.

Putin, appearing alongside Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, gave few details of the Russian proposal but said high-level experts would meet and Russia would hold preparatory contacts on the level of participants and the agenda.

"I intend to discuss this idea with my other colleagues who are interested in moving the peace process forward in the Middle East," he said. He would talk about it with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, he added.

Putin leaves for Israel and the Palestinian territories later on Wednesday after 24 hours in Egypt -- the first visit to Egypt by a Russian or Soviet leader for 40 years.

"We are very wary but not against it in principle," a senior Israeli official said in Jerusalem in response to Putin's call.

The official said Israel was committed to the road map, which envisages a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. Under that plan, Palestinians are meant to dismantle militant groups while Israel freezes the growth of Jewish settlements.

The Palestinian Authority welcomed Putin's conference proposal, saying it would help prepare for final status negotiations following a ceasefire agreement and Israeli withdrawals from Gaza and some of the West Bank.

"We support the proposal totally," Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Shaath told Reuters.

Palestinians and Israelis declared a ceasefire at a February meeting in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, and violence has significantly decreased since then.

In addition, Israel plans to withdraw from Gaza and areas of the West Bank. Washington sees the move as a possible step towards reviving Middle East peace negotiations.

Mubarak told the news conference in Cairo that Israel must carry out the understandings reached in Sharm el-Sheikh, especially on the release of prisoners.

"I am worried about delays implementing what was agreed upon in Sharm el-Sheikh," the Egyptian president said.

Putin said: "I agree with President Mubarak on the need for strict implementation of the agreements made at Sharm el-Sheikh."

Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza.