MOSCOW, Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Tuesday for an Israeli withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territories and urged both sides in the conflict to halt violence and ensure each other's security.

In a letter to Arab leaders meeting in Beirut on Wednesday, Putin, whose country is co-sponsor of the stalled Middle East peace process along with the United States, said a solution to the conflict lay with the "peace-for-land" formula.

"In our view, a just and stable peace in the Middle East will only come when the occupation of Arab lands stops and the people of Palestine excercise their national rights, including the right to self-determination and the creation of an independent state," Putin said.

"It is also imperative that sound and uniform security be guaranteed all states and peoples in the region - Arabs and Israelis alike."

Putin said Russia firmly backed a cease-fire plan drawn up by CIA Director George Tenet, and findings by a commission headed by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, as blueprints for ending 18 months of violence in which nearly 1,500 people have died.

The Kremlin leader praised Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's proposal to offer Israel peace and normal relations with the Arab world if it returns all land captured in the 1967 war and agrees to a just solution to the refugee problem. Putin pledged active Russian support to international efforts to end the violence.

In a clear swipe at the United States, Putin rejected use of force over Iraq and called on Arab leaders to work out a plan that could pave the way for a political solution.

Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in a telephone conversation that Moscow saw his presence at the Beirut meeting as important for achieving stability in the region. Israel, ignoring heavy international pressure, said on Tuesday Arafat had not done enough to be allowed to attend the Arab summit.