Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expected in Moscow, Russian media reports
- ‘An agreement has been reached that Mr Abbas will come here to Moscow,’ Russia’s RBC news said, citing Palestine’s ambassador to Russia
- Russian President Vladimir Putin last met Abbas a year ago on the sidelines of a regional conference in Kazakhstan
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to visit Moscow, Russian news media quoted the Palestinian envoy to Moscow as saying late on Monday.
“We are awaiting an official statement from the Kremlin, from the Russian side, about when the visit will take place,” Russia’s RBC news outlet said, citing Palestine’s ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal.
“An agreement has been reached that Mr Abbas will come here to Moscow.”
Separately, Nofal told Russia’s state television that the two sides maintain “daily contacts.”
US rushing air defences, munitions and aid to Israel: defence official
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Abbas he was working to prevent “an expansion” of conflict after the surprise Hamas attack on Israel, Saudi state media reported.
Prince Mohammed also told Abbas the Gulf kingdom continued “to stand by the Palestinian people to achieve their legitimate rights to a decent life, achieve their hopes and aspirations, and achieve just and lasting peace,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
However Prince Mohammed told Fox News last month that the Palestinian issue was “very important” for Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam in Mecca and Medina.
“We need to solve that part. We need to ease the life of the Palestinians,” Prince Mohammed said.
Analysts say any progress towards normalisation has now been dealt a heavy blow by the continuing fighting.
Prince Mohammed has also spoken to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II about the crisis by phone, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse