MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Moscow on August 12-14, he expects to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on August 13, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told TASS.

"The president will arrive on August 12 in the afternoon. He is expected to meet with President Putin on Tuesday, and before that Mahmoud Abbas will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow. The president will be in Russia until August 14. Of course, there will be a meeting with Arab ambassadors," the diplomat stressed.

According to the ambassador, the main topic of discussion will be the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"The situation in Gaza [will be on the agenda]. They will talk about Russia's role and what can be done. We are in a very difficult situation, and Russia is a country close to us. We need to consult," Nofal noted.

Another round of escalation in the Middle East followed the violent death of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the elimination of Hezbollah top military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah held Israel responsible and asserted that the attacks will be met with retaliation. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov did not rule out that the assassination of Haniyeh may affect talks with Israel on the prisoners’ swap in Gaza.