Putin: Russia Recognizes Palestine as State
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that Moscow already has recognized a Palestinian state.
?We [recognized Palestine] 25 years ago, and our position has not changed,? Putin told Abbas on Tuesday during a visit to Ramallah, the Times of Israel reported.
?Palestinian leadership, and the president personally, have been behaving responsibly to achieve peace based on the two-state solution,? Putin reportedly said.
U.S. government officials have urged Abbas repeatedly to return to talks with Israel without preconditions. Abbas has said he will not have high-level dialogue until Israel freezes all building in the West Bank and in eastern Jerusalem.
Putin also said that he agreed with Abbas? efforts to create a national unity government between his Fatah faction and Hamas, the Times of Israel reported. Hamas embraces terrorism as a legitimate tool in its stated goal of destroying Israel.
Earlier this week, Putin had met in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the visit ?a solid basis for building dialogue and partnership.?
Israeli concerns include Russian support for Syria?s embattled Assad regime and the sale of sophisticated anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran. Putin repeatedly has rejected calls for a possible Israeli or Western nation military strike against Iran?s nuclear installations, which Tehran will not fully open to international inspections.
Russia appears to be trying to reassert its role in Israeli-Arab peacemaking. Putin said he was open to hosting a peace summit in Moscow, the Times of Israel reported. Russia and its predecessor state, the Soviet Union, has traditionally favored Arab positions in such talks.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
