Meeting with President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas

On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Lavrov SergeiMinister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office - Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov Peskov DmitryDeputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, Presidential Press Secretary, and Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov Ushakov YuryAide to the President.

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Beginning of Russian-Palestinian talks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends,

During your visit to Moscow in August, we engaged in extensive discussions, exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East, reviewed crucial aspects of Russian-Palestinian cooperation, and also concurred that you would attend the BRICS summit in Kazan to continue our dialogue.

Regrettably, since our previous meeting, the situation in the region has not improved; on the contrary, it is deteriorating. The tragic events in the Gaza Strip have already led to more than 40,000 deaths and provoked tensions in Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East. Tensions are also escalating in the West Bank. We all bear witness to this.

Russia's principled position is consistent and absolutely impartial: we firmly advocate for an early cessation of bloodshed and the provision of humanitarian access to all those in need. We urge all parties to exercise restraint.

A lasting peace in the region can only be achieved through a political and diplomatic settlement based on recognised international legal grounds and platform, which provide for the establishment of an independent sovereign Palestinian State that would coexist in peace and security with Israel.

Russia has traditionally devoted special attention to the Middle East settlement issue. Among other efforts, we have been addressing this issue during our BRICS chairmanship. As you observed at the meeting and during bilateral contacts, BRICS countries have similar approaches. This was affirmed both by the extraordinary BRICS summit on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the discussion that took place here in Kazan.

Of course, Russia cannot overlook the needs of the people. As you are aware, we have transferred over 800 tonnes of supplies, including food and medicine, to the Palestinians. Naturally, we will do everything within our power to steer the situation towards the resolution of all the problems in this area.

President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas Abbas MahmoudPresident of the State of Palestine (retranslated): Our meeting today and this day itself are of critical importance to us.

The events held within BRICS under your chairmanship were a success. As you mentioned, we met in August and had extensive discussions about Palestine-Russia relations. We are pleased with the strong stance that the Russian Federation has adopted to support the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people's sovereign right to achieve their goals, including the establishment of our own state. The Palestinian people highly appreciate this, Mr President.

We were very pleased to hear what you had to say in your remarks, where you addressed all issues that we find important. A significant portion of what you said covered the Palestinian issue, which is of our deep concern, and everyone heard it. During today's session, you said many important things, and I would like to thank you for that.

The events and activities of the BRICS Summit have left a strong impression on us. We stand ready to assist you in promoting cooperation within this framework and, God willing, someday we will join BRICS as a group member, a partner, or an observer. We are ready to contribute in any capacity.

Mr President, you mentioned the ongoing developments in the Palestinian territories. It is indeed a tragedy: more than 40,000 people died, 100,000 were injured, and 10,000 are missing. All of that happened in the Gaza Strip. Seventy percent of infrastructure, including organisations, hospitals, homes, and buildings, has been destroyed.

What do we want? We only seek a cessation of hostilities, something that everyone else is calling for as well. We hope to achieve this, and having done that, we can start bringing in humanitarian aid and increasing its volumes in order to alleviate the suffering of civilians. We need to bring in clothing, food, water, and medicine.

There is another important point that I must address. The Palestinians will never leave Gaza, just as they will never leave the West Bank of the Jordan River. This is crucial. [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is trying to do just that, to expel Palestinians from their native lands, but we will never agree to that.

We are aware of the fact that both Egypt on Gaza's side and the Jordanians on the West Bank of the Jordan River's side do not support this policy and denounce it. Gaza is an integral part of the Palestinian state. Therefore, we are determined to work on putting an end to the occupation so that we can live in a united Palestinian state as one with Gaza and the West Bank.

We know there was a coup in Gaza in 2007, and Hamas came to power. But we have never thought of this part of our country as a foreign body.

Also, Mr President, you have called for a dialogue on the Palestinian issue. We agree with that. Most importantly, it should take place within the internationally legitimate framework. We support this idea. We thank you for your efforts and attention to the Palestinian cause.

Moreover, Mr President, the United States and some Arab countries are making appeals that we find unclear. We disagree with them and see them as interference in our domestic affairs. When I say this, I mean they want to appoint certain individuals to specific positions.

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