The two leaders met within the framework of the Conference on Asian Cooperation and Confidence Building (CICA) in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana. Putin has held several bilateral meetings, including with the leaders of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Qatar.
According to Abbas, US mediation can only be accepted within the framework of the Middle East Quartet made up of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia.
The statement issued by Abbas’s office did not mention that the Russian operation in Ukraine was discussed at the session.
The United States has recently paid less attention to resolving the conflict in the Middle East due to other pressing global challenges, notably the conflict in Ukraine and China and economic problems.
The mistrust of the Palestinians was heightened by the fact that the US embassy was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem during the presidency of Donald Trump.
Washington ended its support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Incumbent President Joe Biden restored the latter, but did not change the embassy’s location. Biden did not attempt to restart peace talks, instead pursuing more modest goals such as boosting the Palestinian economy.
Israelis and Palestinians have not engaged in substantive peace talks for more than a decade.
Cover photo: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (B) and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 6th Summit of the Conference on Asian Cooperation and Confidence Building (CICA) in the Kazakh capital Astana, on the first day of the two-day event, October 13, 2022 no. Photo: MTI/EPA/Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofiev
