RAMALLAH, Tuesday, August 13, 2024 (WAFA) - President Mahmoud Abbas met today with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow.

Resident Abbas briefed his Russian counterpart on the latest developments in the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, including the targeting of defenseless civilians, the full destruction of infrastructure and the war of starvation.

The President reiterated the Palestinian position calling for an immediate and urgent ceasefire, the prevention of further bloodshed, the full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, as well as the cessation of the ongoing attacks in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the serious incursions into the Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem.

The president also called for the cessation of economic strangulation and the release of the withheld Palestinian clearance funds, in preparation for a return to the political horizon based on international legitimacy in accordance with the two-state solution, to end the Israeli occupation and achieve Palestine’s independence, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

President Abbas stressed the need for the international community to oblige Israel, the occupying state, to respect the resolutions of international legitimacy and international law, to implement the decisions of international courts and most recently the rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to support the full membership of the State of Palestine in the United Nations and to hold an international peace conference to give hope to the Palestinian people that the international community is serious about preserving the remaining possibility of implementing the two-state solution, which successive Israeli governments seek to destroy in disregard of the resolutions of international legitimacy.

The President also stressed the importance of strengthening the historic bilateral relations between the two countries to serve the interests of the two friendly countries and peoples.

He highly praised the efforts made by Russia to achieve Palestinian reconciliation under the banner of the PLO; the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

President Abbas further commended Russia for its courageous and steadfast positions in support of the rights of the Palestinian people at international forums, and for standing on the side of justice, rights and international legitimacy to end the occupation and embody the rights of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence.

T.R.