Summing up his visit to Russia, Palestinian Leader Mahmud Abbas said that Palestine and Russia share common view of the Middle East problem.
Abbas' statement could be regarded as a diplomatic move or an attempt to put pressure on his opponents, showing that Palestine has a powerful ally. But Abbas was sincere when he said so. We hear from Vladimir Morozov, an expert with the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"The main goal for Mahmud Abbas as the head of the Palestinian administration is the establishment of the Independent Palestinian state. Russia has always supported and will support this goal of the Palestinian nation".
There are a few factors which hamper the achievement of this goal. First of all there are contradictions between the leading political factions of Fatah and Hamas which split Palestinian society. These disagreements really hamper international diplomatic efforts to bring peace in the region. If Hamas and Fatah come to an agreement it will become easier to speak with the international mediators about Palestine's independence. For this purpose Moscow regularly contacts not only Fatah but also Hamas representatives.
But the main attention Moscow is now paying is to the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian talks. On Thursday, Russia's envoy in the UN Vitaly Churkin reiterated that the participation of all parties concerned is required to unfreeze the dialogue:
"They have to fulfill their obligations under the road map, worked out by the four international mediators to settle the Middle East situation. First of all Israel should stop the construction of its settlements on Palestinian territories".
The theme of the Israeli settlements has become the real obstacle on the way of to Israeli-Palestinian understanding. Besides that, building sustainable peace is impossible without solving the Gaza strip problem.
Some time ago Israeli Prime-Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a moratorium for the construction of new Jewish settlements on disputable territories. But this moratorium concerned only part of these territories. In Russia the Palestinian leader made it clear that Palestine was ready to resume talks with Israel if it stops building settlements even for a while, but on all disputable territories. This will be the signal that Israel is ready to fulfill its obligations under the road map. Abbas also said he hopes that Jerusalem will become an open city for all religions. Delivering a speech in the Russian Islamic University in the city of Kazan, Abbas urged to declaring Kazan and Jerusalem twin-cities.
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