Palestinian president arrives in Russia’s capital Moscow on official visit

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday arrived in the Russian capital Moscow on an official visit.

Russian media outlets have published videos showing Abbas’ arrival at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport, where he was greeted by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also the country’s special envoy for the Middle East and Africa.

Abbas is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, during which they are expected to exchange views on the situation in the Middle East “in light of the current aggravation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip,” according to a Kremlin statement.

Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told state news agency TASS on Sunday that Abbas is also scheduled to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow and hold a meeting with Arab ambassadors in the country during his stay.

Initially planned for Nov. 15, 2023, the visit was postponed at the request of the Palestinian side due to the situation in Gaza.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has since killed nearly 39,900 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 92,000 others, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.