BETHLEHEM, January 23. /TASS/. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday he wanted to discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin US President Donald Trump’s "deal of the century" for the Middle East, as well as the problem of the occupation of Palestinian territories and elections in Palestine.
"Naturally, we need to discuss a number of problems. I mean, first of all, Israel’s statement on the annexation of Palestinian territories, possible announcement of the second part of Trump’s ‘deal of the century.’ As we know, the Americans have already announced the first part. Other topics are parliamentary and presidential elections in the State of Palestine," he said during talks with the Russian leader.
Abbas also thanked the Russian side for its permanent support to the Palestinian administration and stressed that Moscow never lost an opportunity to draw the world community’s attention to the problems of the Palestinians.
According to Abbas, the Palestinian authorities attach great significance to the regular exchange of top-level visits to maintain dialogue on the most topical matters. "I would also like to express gratitude for the support, I mean political, economic, cultural and financial support, and support in the sphere of security, you offer to the Palestinian," he said.
"I cannot fail to thank you for the support and work you are doing in the Arab world. We see it as a proof that the affairs of the Arab world are important for Russia. Russia has always been present in the Arab world and has been working towards resolution of its problems," the stressed.
"Deal of the century"
In late June 2019, the US administration made public a 40-page document containing economic aspects of the US plan for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict settlement, dubbed in the United States as the "deal of the century". Thus, it provides for 50 billion US dollar worth investments in Palestine and neighboring countries. Under the plan, slightly less than a half of the sum would go to Palestine, with the rest meant for Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
An international conference on the deal’s economic aspects was held Bahrain’s capital city on June 25-26, 2019. The Palestinian administration and a number of Arab nations boycotted the conference, saying such an approach was inappropriate.
Political provisions of the deal have not yet been made public but, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, it was clear that it did not provide for the establishment of a separate Palestinian state and was geared to abandon the two-state solution to the problem.