‘We don’t trust America’, Palestine’s Abbas tells Russia’s Putin

Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas has met Russian President Vladimir Putin,
restating his mistrust of Washington in resolving the conflict
with Israel and expressing appreciation for Russia’s role. 

Abbas on Thursday reiterated his support for the Quartet of
international mediators – Russia, the United States, the United
Nations and the European Union – but said the United States
could not be left a free hand to act alone.

“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 at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence
Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Kazakhstan.

“It can be within the Quartet since it is a great country
but we will never accept it as the only one,” he said, in
televised remarks.

READ MORE: US, Palestine discuss commitment to two states based on ‘pre-1967 lines’

Longstanding suspicion

The comments echo the 87 year-old Palestinian leader’s
longstanding suspicion of the United States, Israel’s main ally,
but come as President Joe Biden has stepped up efforts to
isolate Russia over its attack on Ukraine.

Abbas said he was “completely satisfied” with Russia’s
position towards the Palestinian people.

“Russia stands by justice and international law and that is
enough for us,” he said.

“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.”

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