Reference News Network, January 23 report: According to the Russian "Expert" Weekly website, on January 20, Palestinian President Abbas arrived in Moscow and met with Russian President Putin at the Kremlin on the 22nd. The two mainly discussed the situation in Gaza and Palestine as well as the development of bilateral relations. Putin explained the conditions for the peaceful resolution of the Middle East issue and announced the willingness to provide $1 billion in financial aid to the "Peace Committee" for the Palestinian people.
Officials from the Russian side attending the meeting included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Presidential Assistant Yuri Ushakov, and Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The report said that during the talks, Putin stated that funds could be allocated to the "Peace Committee" from frozen Russian assets.
Puvin said: "We are prepared to transfer $1 billion to this newly established 'Peace Committee'. This is primarily and above all to support the Palestinian people, using these funds for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and for resolving the Palestinian issue." He said that the needs and wishes of the Palestinians should be considered, including the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Puvin pointed out that the funds for the allocation could be drawn from the Russian assets frozen by the United States during the Biden administration. Russia had previously discussed this plan with representatives of the US government. On the 22nd, Putin met with US President's Special Envoy for Middle East Issues Steven Wietzke in Moscow, and they held talks on this topic.
The report said that Putin emphasized that the peaceful resolution of the Middle East issue is only possible if a Palestinian state is fully operational. Putin said: "We believe that only by truly establishing a Palestinian state and making it fully functional can the Middle East conflict be ultimately resolved."
Puvin said that in the most difficult times, Russia, at the request of the Palestinian side, transported more than 800 tons of humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip a total of 32 times.
The meeting also discussed the development of bilateral relations between the two countries in the fields of economy, trade, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. Putin mentioned that the trade volume between the two countries has increased threefold. He said that Russia will continue to provide personnel training for Palestine.
According to the Kremlin Press Service, Abbas said that what connects Palestine and Russia is a "bond of the heart."
Abbas was the first foreign leader to meet with Putin in Russia in 2026. This is the fourth meeting between them in the past four years. (Translated by Han Ziling)
Original: toutiao.com/article/7598543785425666614/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.