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Putin to hold talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas

A Kremlin press service official said, "During the forthcoming meeting, the leaders are to discuss matters aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations, including stepping up cooperation in the trade-and-economic sphere"

MOSCOW, June 25, 0:46 /ITAR-TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the State of Palestine, here on Wednesday.

A Kremlin press service official said, "During the forthcoming meeting, the leaders are to discuss matters aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations, including stepping up cooperation in the trade-and-economic sphere".

Special attention is to be devoted to regional and international problems of current concern, specifically prospects for the Palestinian-Israeli negotiating process and the situation in the area of the Middle East and North Africa as a whole.

RF presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, for his part, pointed out that it is planned to discuss the situation in Syria. He said that while in Moscow the Palestinian leader would meet with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to discuss prospects for the development of trade-and-economic and cultural cooperation between the RF and Palestine.

"Russia's Head of Government and the President of the State of Palestine will discuss matters of current importance concerning bilateral relations, as well as the present state of and prospects for the development of trade-and-economic and cultural cooperation. Humanitarian cooperation is to be discussed with emphasis on the rendering of practical assistance to the Palestinian side in developing state institutions and in solving basic social tasks," the press service official added.

The working visit of Mahmoud Abbas will last three days. Last time he was in Moscow at the end of January this year. Abbas as the Head of the Palestinian National Autonomy first visited the Russian capital for an official visit at the beginning of 2005. Since then, the Palestinian leader has visited the Russian Federation eleven times. The present visit is a twelfth one.

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