Putin reiterates Russia’s support for an independent Palestinian state

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated his country’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the implementation of the relevant United Nations resolutions.

Speaking at the plenary session of Russian Energy Week, Putin said: “Russia’s position, which I just mentioned and explained, has not evolved today, not with regard to these tragic events, but rather has evolved over decades. This position is known to the Israeli side and to our friends in Palestine: We have always advocated the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, taking into account first and foremost the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state.”

Putin added that the conflict in Palestine has extended for a long time, and has become a manifestation of injustice that has reached an incredible degree, adding that the Palestinian issue is in the “heart of every person in the region”.

“What is happening is terrible. We understand that the level of bitterness is enormous. But we need to reduce civilian casualties to a minimum, and this applies to both sides,” he said, explaining that initially there was talk about creating two states – Israel and Palestine, but the latter never happened, adding that part of the Palestinian territories are occupied by Israel.

He stressed that expanding the conflict zone could lead to serious consequences.

“In recent years, the focus has been on meeting the material needs of the population living in the Palestinian territories. In essence, they have tried to replace problem-solving of basic political issues with some kind of material gifts. Of course, this is very important for people who have a low standard of living. It is important to solve economic issues, but we have always said that this will not be enough. And without resolving the basic political issues, the most important of which is the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, it is impossible to solve the entire problem,” he added.

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