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Middle East conflict

Russia has always supported an independent Palestine — Putin

According to the president, an independent Palestinian state would create conditions for a lasting peace further down the road

BEIJING, October 18. /TASS/. Russia has always supported establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, an idea that Russian President Vladimir Putin said was unrelated to the latest escalation between Palestine and Israel.

"As regards establishing a Palestinian state, we have a principled position. It has nothing to do with today’s crisis, although, of course, it brings this problem to the forefront. Nevertheless, we have always favored establishing a sovereign and independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," the Russian leader said.

According to him, an independent Palestinian state would create conditions for a lasting peace further down the road. "I don’t know if today’s crisis could contribute to getting this done (establishing an independent Palestinian state - TASS), but were it so, it would be right for that would create conditions for peace in the long-term perspective," the Russian leader said, taking questions from reporters.

Putin rejected as irrelevant the idea of "substituting opportunistic economic handouts for fundamental political issues related to determining the fate of the Palestinian people, as the United States sought to do." "Today’s crisis indicates that. It is necessary to solve fundamental political issues," he concluded.

Tags

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