US Disappointed by Palestinian President Abbas' Comments on Putin

KotabumiNews - The White House is "deeply disappointed" in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for voicing distrust about Washington's diplomatic efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Abbas instead praised Russia's stance on this issue. The disappointment was expressed by a spokesman for the US National Security Council (NSC) told Axios on Thursday (15/10/2022).

On Thursday, when Abbas praised Russia's "clear position" on a peace settlement between the Palestinians and Israel, he reiterated his support for the so-called Quartet in the Middle East, a framework of mediators that includes Russia, the US, the United Nations and the European Union.

However, Abbas noted that Washington cannot be the sole mediator.

"We don't trust America and you know our position ... under no circumstances can we accept that America is the only party in solving problems," Abbas told Putin on the sidelines of the Conference on Actions to Build Interaction and Trust in Asia in Astana. , Kazakhstan.

Abbas also praised for "standing by justice and international law".

According to two Axios sources, officials in US President Joe Biden's administration were "outraged" by Abbas's remarks and conveyed these sentiments to his advisers.

An NSC spokesman told the outlet that, "We are very disappointed to hear President Abbas' remarks to President Putin."

"Russia does NOT stand for justice and international law, as evidenced by the recent vote in the UN General Assembly," the spokesman stressed.

The spokesman was referring to a recent resolution rejecting a referendum in the four former Ukrainian territories, most of which voted to join Russia.

The spokesman also criticized Putin as "far from the type of international partner" who can help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in contrast to Biden, who "has demonstrated decades of US commitment to finding creative solutions."

The spokesman's statement came a week after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met top Palestinian official Hussein Al-Sheikh to discuss regional stability.

The meeting follows July talks between Biden and Abbas in which he confirmed his commitment to the idea of ​​creating an independent Palestinian state. However, he answered "not at the right time" to the question of restarting peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, to which Abbas replied that the chance for a two-state solution might be lost.

Analysts suggest that the US leader is seeking to improve relations with the Palestinians after his predecessor Donald Trump pursued policies that were more favorable to Israel.

Russia and Palestine, however, have had warm relations for many years. Abbas has visited Russia more than a dozen times.