MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. Russian Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and the member of Palestinian Fatah movement’s Central Committee Azzam al-Ahmad discussed over the phone the results of the intra-Palestinian meeting that ended in China, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"During the conversation, Azzam al-Ahmad, who is currently in Beijing, shared the outcome of the intra-Palestinian meeting which ended in the capital of China," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "The Russian side underlined its unwavering position in favor of the speedy consolidation of all Palestinian political forces as a fundamental precondition for fulfilling the aspirations of Palestinian people to establish their sovereign state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with the well-known resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly."
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the final document, which was negotiated and signed in Beijing, is based on the fundamental agreements that were fixed in Moscow on February 29 - March 1 at the intra-Palestinian meeting with the participation of 14 organizations, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
"The Palestinians in this regard highly appreciate Russia's consistent and crucial role in the pursuit of Palestinian national unity on the Palestine Liberation Organization's political platform. Moreover, there is a constructive policy in this direction conducted by China, Egypt and Algeria," the ministry said.
About the negotiations
Earlier, the Fatah movement announced that its preparatory work for a new round of talks with Hamas in Beijing came to an end and voiced hope for its success. Meanwhile, Fatah blamed its counterparts for the "failure of previous attempts to establish an intra-Palestinian dialogue."
On June 5, it was reported that representatives of Hamas and Fatah allegedly plan to hold another round of consultations towards normalization of relations in the middle of June in Beijing. The Reuters news agency then claimed that during the negotiations Fatah would insist that Hamas recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians and pledge to abide by the agreements signed by this organization. Hamas in its turn expects Fatah to accept the creation of a new Palestinian administration in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The representatives of various Palestinian factions held talks this year to overcome the existing gap between them, but these meetings have had little effect so far.