Palestinian leader visits Russia

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Moscow today for an official visit as part of his first foreign trip since his election earlier this month.

Abbas is expected to meet President Vladimir Putin tomorrow, the Palestinian Embassy said. He is also scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II.

The Palestinian ambassador to Moscow, Khairi Al-Oridi, said the visit had “great importance” and praised “the role of Russia in the Middle East and its firm principled position on a general, just and lasting settlement of the Mideast crisis.”

Abbas’ talks with Russian officials will touch on the Middle East peace process, the situation in the region in general and bilateral relations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said. The Foreign Ministry said his talks with Lavrov will focus on Mideast peace efforts.

Abbas’ trip comes amid renewed hopes for peace after a sharp drop in violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

“The fact that Abbas was able to agree with Palestinian organisations on a cease-fire against Israel ... demonstrates the true desire of the Palestinian people to live in peace and concord,” said Al-Oridi.

Yakovenko said that since his election, Abbas has begun resolute efforts to reform Palestinian power structures, including security agencies, and to stem extremist and terrorist activity.

Al-Oridi said Palestinian leaders “are counting on the international community, including of course Russia, to convince Israel to fully reject the use of force and begin realisation of the provisions of the ’road map’ plan” - the proposal sponsored by the so-called quartet seeking Mideast peace: the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union.

Russia has traditionally played a secondary role to Washington in Mideast peacemaking, despite its participation in the quartet. A Cold War-era supporter of the Palestinians, Moscow’s relations with Israel have improved significantly since the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Arab nations have expressed an interest in a stronger Russian role in the Middle East. In a four-day visit to Moscow last week, Syrian President Bashar Assad played up Russia’s clout on the world stage and won a write-off of most of his country’s multimillion-dollar debt to Moscow.

Abbas has visited Jordan and Egypt and is also to travel to Turkey and Switzerland. He leaves Russia on Tuesday morning.