Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) major industrial powers on Thursday urged Israel and the Palestinians to create favorable conditions in which they would be able to return to the negotiating table.

G8 foreign ministers called on Israel to "exercise utmost restraint" in the current crisis, said a joint statement after their meeting in Moscow.

"The detention of elected members of the Palestinian government and legislature raises particular concerns," the ministers said.

The Israeli army detained eight Hamas-led cabinet ministers and 21 lawmakers mainly representing the Hamas movement in a predawn sweep on Thursday after Palestinian militant groups refused to free an Israeli soldier who was abducted by Palestinian militants on Sunday.

A 19-year-old Israeli, Corporal Gilad Shalit, was seized early Sunday during a raid on a military outpost near the Gaza border, sparking the latest crisis between the Israelis and Palestinians.

"We confirmed the position of the international mediators on the Middle East settlement in the wake of the recent worsening of relations between the Palestinians and the Israelis," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a press conference after the meeting.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at press conference that the ministers "called on the Palestinian government and other parties to secure the release of the Israeli soldier."

"We are also asking Israel to exercise restraint, because with restraint perhaps we can get back to a place where there can be hope again for a peace process," Rice said.

The G8 ministers gathered here to prepare for the group's summit scheduled for mid-July in St. Petersburg as Russia is chairing the group for the first time.

The G8 consists of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

Source: Xinhua