Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is meeting Vladimir Putin in Moscow today, in
a bid to sideline the US from the Middle East peace process.
Putin and
Abbas will discuss the future of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the
prospect of finding a mechanism in which the United States would no longer
serve as the primary mediator between the two sides. The meeting comes amid
ongoing tensions between the Washington and the Palestinian Authority over
Donald Trump’s recognition in December of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The PA has
argued that the Trump administration was no longer qualified to play the role
of honest broker in any peace process due to its “bias” in favor of Israel.
The
Palestinians are also upset with Trump’s threats to cut funding to cut funding
to the PA and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian
Refugees (UNRWA).
Russia is
becoming a vital ally for the Palestinians, being one of the five permanent
members on the United Nations Security Council. Russia recognizes Palestine as
a state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Russia is
also a member of the Mideast Quartet for peace, established in Madrid in 2002
to promote peace in the Middle East and composed of Russia, the UN, EU and the
US.
Israel and
the United States have long opposed an international effort involving the
United Nations in peace negotiations, expressing concerns it would be biased
against Israel. They have insisted on direct talks between the parties.
The
Palestinian envoy to the UN on February 8 suggested that China and Arab League
could also be part of any future ‘peace processes on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
In late
January, Abbas addressed an African Union meeting in Ethiopia’s capital Addis
Ababa, also calling on African states to join the multilateral mechanism to
discuss the conflict between Israel and Palestinians.
Russia in
2016 offered to host one-on-one talks between Abbas and Netanyahu, but nothing
came of the proposal.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/abbas-visits-putin-jerusalem-talks/