MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will soon visit Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a senior Russian diplomat announced.

"I can say that he [Abbas] will soon arrive on an official visit in Moscow; talks with Vladimir [Putin] will be held here," said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to say exactly when Abbas would arrive. "We will announce the date [of Abbas’ upcoming visit] in due time," Peskov said, as he surmised that the two leaders would primarily discuss the situation in the Middle East.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7 when Hamas militants launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian movement described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total siege of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.