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Netanyahu, Putin discuss US ‘deal of the century’ and Syria - delegation source

Netanyahu arrived in Moscow for a meeting with Putin on Thursday after visiting Washington, where the Israeli prime minister attended a joint news conference with US President Donald Trump

TEL AVIV, January 30. /TASS/. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed at their meeting in the Kremlin on Thursday the US "deal of the century" on the Palestinian-Israeli settlement and its influence on the region as well as the events unfolding in Syria, a source in the Israeli delegation told TASS.

"This was a long, profound and substantial discussion on the details of the ‘deal of the century’ and its influence on the region. Besides, the leaders discussed the developments in Syria and the necessary coordination between Israel and Russia," the source said.

Netanyahu arrived in Moscow for a meeting with Putin on Thursday shortly after visiting Washington, where the Israeli prime minister attended a joint news conference on Tuesday with US President Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, Trump unveiled the key points of the so-called "deal of the century", a plan for Israel-Palestine settlement based on mutual recognition of both states. The US offers to link the Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with a tunnel, also proposing to recognize East Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital.

At the same time, Trump has stressed that Jerusalem remains Israel's "undivided capital," adding that the US intends to recognize Israeli sovereignty over Jewish settlements founded on Palestinian territories. Among the preconditions for the peace process, the US leader listed Palestine denouncing the Hamas radical movement active in Gaza and ceasing military activity. The US offers Palestine $50 bln in investments.

Netanyahu supported the initiative and expressed his readiness to start negotiations immediately. President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas denounced the deal, blasting it as a "conspiracy deal", while the Hamas movement stressed that the plan is "not worth the ink it was written with.".