Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will receive Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas at the Kremlin on Monday.
Abbas is visiting Russia at Medvedev’s invitation. He went to Grozny on Sunday and met with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.
The PNA president will have his first meeting with Medvedev but this is his 16th visit to Russia in the past decade. Many analysts call the current visit ‘a farewell’ because Abbas’ office will expire on January 9 and general elections will be held on Palestinian lands.
“This is the second visit of the Palestinian leader to our country in 2008 [the previous visit was paid in April],” a representative of the Russian presidential administration told Itar-Tass. “The Russian-Palestinian political dialog is open and regular,” he noted.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a Federation Council delegation and Audit Chamber Chairman Sergei Stepashin visited Palestinian lands this year, and the Russian-Palestinian Working Committee convened in Moscow this April.
“These are signs of the special significance attributed by the sides to topical international and regional issues,” the Kremlin source said.
The upcoming negotiations “will focus on more intensive bilateral cooperation and put an emphasis on the assistance to united and efficient Palestinian authorities and resolution of socioeconomic problems,” the source said. “Ways to broaden trade, economic cooperation and investments will be also on the agenda with a special role of the recently formed Russian-Palestinian Business Council. Tourism and Russian pilgrim tours to the Holy Land will be highlighted, as well.”
“The Middle East situation will be discussed through the prism of peace process continuity and prevention of Palestinian-Israeli and inter-Palestinian confrontations and unilateral steps,” the source said. “Russia will continue to support the achievement of these goals. The Moscow Middle East conference planned for next year with the support of UN Security Council resolution 1850 and the international mediating quartet is bound to become a good floor for the resolution of Middle East problems.”
