Putin, Abbas to discuss Middle East settlement, Russia-Palestine relations—Kremlin

MOSCOW— Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on Thursday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the Middle East settlement and issues of the bilateral agenda. The meeting will be held in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi, the Kremlin press service reported.

“On May 11, 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin will have talks in Sochi with President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas who will pay a working visit to Russia. Priority attention will be focused on current issue of the Middle East settlement. The two leaders will also discuss a number of practical issues of the bilateral agenda,” the Kremlin said.

Earlier, Palestine’s Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal said that the Putin-Abbas talks will center round Palestinian-Israeli settlement. “The Russian and Palestinian leaders will discuss steps that are to be taken to resume the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks in the light of the March telephone conversation between [US President Donald] Trump and Mahmoud Abbas,” he said, adding that the two president are also expected to discuss the results of the Amman summit of the Arab League with a focus on the Palestinian problem and anti-terrorism efforts. “The leaders of Russia and Palestine will also discuss bilateral relations and issue of intra-Palestinian reconciliation,” he noted.

Putin and Abbas will also take part in a ceremony via a video link-up to open a Multifunctional Cultural Center built with Russia’s assistance in Bethlehem, the Kremlin press office said.