ASTANA, October 13. /TASS/. Moscow’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian settlement remains unchanged, and it is based on UN decisions, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.
"You know, Russia's position on Palestinian problems, on the Palestinian-Israeli settlement, is a matter of principle. It is based on the fundamental decisions of the UN and does not change," he stressed.
The Russian president emphasized that "there are no doubts here". "We have always advocated a just settlement on an international legal basis. In this sense, you can be sure of our position," he maintained.
Putin said he was very happy to see his colleague. "We haven't seen each other in person for a long time because of the pandemic’s restrictions, but we have always been in contact and talked directly over the phone, and our colleagues have met with each other," Putin said, noting that the Russian-Palestinian relationship had very deep roots.
The Russian president said that Moscow was closely monitoring what was happening in the region. "I am very glad that we could meet and I can’t wait to hear your assessment of the situation," he told his counterpart.
Speaking about bilateral Russian-Palestinian relations, Putin noted that, as it has been repeatedly said, much more needs to be done so that economic ties could develop more actively. According to his estimation, all necessary conditions for this exist. Putin also highlighted the fact that "the humanitarian track is also well represented". He cited figures according to which 650 Palestinian students are currently studying in Russia in various fields. Besides, Putin pointed out that humanitarian issues were being ironed out.
Before the meeting, Putin and Abbas greeted each other very warmly and briefly spoke in English. The politicians did not confine themselves to a protocol handshake and embraced each other cordially as a sign of special sentiment.