Putin on visit to the West Bank

Russian President Vladimir Putin laid a wreath on the late-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s tomb in Ramallah today and held talks with Arafat’s successor, Mahmoud Abbas, but Palestinians held out little hope for concrete results.

Putin was greeted at the Palestinian headquarters, known as the muqaata, by an honour guard of Palestinian security forces. A military band played a halting version of Russia’s national anthem and the Palestinian anthem as Putin and Abbas stood side by side.