US ‘deeply disappointed’ with Abbas’s remarks to Putin

Washington is “deeply disappointed” with the remarks made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the US National Security Council said on Saturday. Abbas met Putin in Kazakhstan last Thursday and apparently told him that the Palestinians do not trust the Biden administration.

“We do not trust it [the US], we do not rely on it, and under no circumstances can we accept that America is the sole party in resolving a problem,” said Abbas. He added that he was “happy and satisfied” with Russia’s support for the Palestinians. “Russia stands by justice and international law and that is enough for us.”

Speaking to the US news website Axios, a spokesman for the National Security Council said: “We were deeply disappointed to hear President Abbas’s remarks to President Putin. Russia does not stand for justice and international law, as evidenced by the latest vote at the UN General Assembly.”

US officials passed their comments to senior PA officials, reported Axios. They argued that the current US administration had resumed its payment of hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinian people, the payment of which was cut by the Trump administration.

According to Haaretz, the PA president was aware that his meeting with Putin might be considered problematic by the West, especially Washington. However, he felt that the Palestinians do not have many options left.

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