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Biden win to open up prospects for Palestinian settlement, envoy to Russia says

The diplomat pointed out that Russia could play an important role in resolving the conflict

MOSCOW, December 1. /TASS/. Palestine expects that the new US administration will open up prospects for ironing out the Palestinian-Israeli issue, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told an online conference on Monday.

"We believe that certain changes are happening now, especially as the new US administration is coming to power. This will open up new prospects for solving this [Palestinian-Israeli] issue," Nofal said.

According to him, the recent resumption of contacts with Israel "was mainly a message for the new US administration" that Palestine is ready to continue dialogue. Meanwhile, the diplomat stressed that Washington’s unilateral mediation in the Palestinian-Israeli settlement was unacceptable. "We see that the new US administration also understands our wish," he said.

The diplomat pointed out that Russia could play an important role in resolving the conflict. He voiced support for boosting the efforts of the Quartet of international mediators on the Middle East settlement (Russia, the US, the UN and the EU). "We are trying to return to international resolutions and documents, which could help us solve this [Palestinian-Israeli] issue," the ambassador said.

The US presidential election was held on November 3. Major US media outlets project that the Democratic contender Joe Biden has presumptively won the presidential election, securing over 270 electoral votes. Incumbent US President Donald Trump is challenging the current outcome, claiming irregularities in the ballot processing in key swing states, and has filed lawsuits to fight his case in court.

Last week, the US General Services Administration acknowledged Biden’s win, formally informing him that they are ready to transfer the budget funds required to begin the transition process in the run-up to his inauguration. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled for January 20.