Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the opening of humanitarian aid corridors amid Israel’s military campaign against Hamas.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of Russia’s commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.
According to the Palestinian WAFA news agency, Abbas thanked Putin for the invitation to the event and praised Russia’s “consistent support” for the Palestinian cause. He briefed Putin on what he described as “Israeli aggression” in both Gaza and Judea and Samaria, accusing Israel of targeting civilians and enforcing a “total blockade” since March 2.
Abbas demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, an end to Israeli military operations in Judea and Samaria, and for unrestricted entry of food, water, medicine and fuel into Gaza.
Russian state-owned media outlet Sputnik cited Abbas as reiterating his rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to move Gaza’s population out and rebuild the Strip as the Riviera of the Middle East.
“We are against the removal of Palestinians from Palestine, as President Trump spoke about,” stated Abbas, per Sputnik. “We do not want to see the establishment of a ‘Middle Eastern Riviera’ in Gaza. This plan is unacceptable, and that is why we rejected it and cannot accept it.”
Putin, for his part, reiterated Russia’s backing of Palestinian self-determination and emphasized the need to halt the war in Gaza, allow aid into Gaza and prevent the displacement of Palestinians.
Also present at the meeting were senior P.A. officials, including Ahmad Majdalani, secretary-general of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF) and a senior member of the PLO Executive Committee; Special “Presidential” Adviser Yasser Abbas, a Palestinian-Canadian multimillionaire businessman and the son of Mahmoud Abbas; Ahmad Assaf, general supervisor of official Palestinian media; and PLO Ambassador to Russia Abdul Hafiz Nofal.