Palestinian president says he does not trust US, but is happy with Russia's position

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he does “not trust” the United States, but is happy with Russia’s position toward Palestine.

The Palestinian leader reaffirmed his mistrust of Washington in resolving the conflict with Israel on Thursday, during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 6th Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Astana, Kazakhstan.

“We don’t trust America and you know our position. We don’t trust it, we don’t rely on it, and under no circumstances can we accept that America is the sole party in resolving a problem,” Abbas told Putin.

CICA - an inter-governmental forum for enhancing cooperation toward promoting peace, security and stability in Asia - is comprised of different countries, including Iran, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Korea, China, Russia, India, Palestine, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan Republic, and Thailand.

Abbas once again expressed his support for the so-called Quartet of international mediators - Russia, the US, the United Nations and the European Union - but stressed that Washington could not be left a free hand to act alone in resolving the decades-long Palestine-Israeli conflict.

The US can play a peacemaking role “within the Quartet, since it is a great country, but we will never accept it as the only one,” the president of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority said.

Palestinians say Biden’s visit to region another step toward supporting Israel

Palestinian officials say Abbas is expected to raise several issues with Biden, but Palestinian citizens say they expect nothing from his visit.

The Palestinian leader, however, praised Moscow, stressing that he was “completely satisfied” with Russia's position toward the Palestinian people.

“Russia stands by justice and international law and that is enough for us. When you say you stand by international legitimacy, this is enough for me and that is what I want. Therefore, we are happy and satisfied with the Russian position,” the Abbas said.

For his part, Putin said Moscow’s support of Palestinians “is a matter of principle.”

Russia has “a principled stance based on the fundamental resolutions of the United Nations and it remains unchanged,” Putin told Abbas.

According to the state-run Russian news agency Tass, Putin said that Moscow has “always advocated a just settlement on an international legal basis.”

Former US president Donald Trump ended nearly all aid to Palestinians three years ago and fully sided with Israel’s positions in the decades-long dispute over a so-called two-state solution.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state, with East al-Quds as its capital. The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion. 

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