Palestinians thankful to Russia - Mahmoud Abbas

Andrei Ontikov

Nov 22, 2012 18:06 Moscow Time

Photo: EPA

The Palestinians highly estimate Russia's efforts aimed at settling the situation in the Gaza Strip and recognizing the Palestinian state on the international arena. This is stated in the message of head of the Palestinian national administration Mahmoud Abbas to the President of Russia. The message was delivered to Moscow by Abbas’s special envoy Saleh Raafat. Here's what he said in an exclusive interview with the Voice of Russiaradio station.

«This message contained a high assessment of the role played by Russia and its leadership for the sake of putting an end to the aggression against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. We also reaffirmed the importance of the efforts that Moscow undertakes in the UN Security Council in order to finally get a resolution that will force Israel to end its military operations in the sector. In addition, we expressed our gratitude for Russia’s support to Palestine’s application on receiving the status of an observer-state in the United Nations Organization».