Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, will have discussions with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of Palestine, who arrived in Moscow on a formal visit the day before.
The Kremlin’s press office earlier stated that in addition to discussing urgent matters of bilateral cooperation, the parties are anticipated to discuss the Middle East’s state of affairs in light of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’s recent escalation and the extraordinary humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
November 15, 2023, was scheduled for the Palestinian leader’s visit to Moscow; however, the Palestinian side requested that the visit be postponed.
Palestinian Ambassador to Moscow Abdel Hafiz Nofal said earlier that the Palestine-Israeli conflict would be the main subject of discussion.
In particular, it is planned to discuss Russia’s role and what can be done, he said, adding that the situation in Palestine was very difficult, while Russia was a close country and the sides needed consultation.
Previously the leaders of the two states met in October 2022 in Astana and also discussed issues of the Palestine-Israeli settlement. Putin said then that Moscow’s position on the issue was based on the UN’s decisions and was not going to change.
Another round of escalation in the Middle East followed the violent death of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the elimination of Hezbollah top military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah held Israel responsible and asserted that the attacks will be met with retaliation. Israeli officials are not commenting on Haniyeh’s death. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov did not rule out that Haniyeh’s assassination might affect talks on releasing Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip.
