Russia Says Palestinian Split into Two Entities Must Be Averted

Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Novosti

Moscow, 30 July: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation has called for a split of the Palestine into two independent entities to be averted, says a press release from the Russian ministry issued at the end of the talks in Moscow on Monday [30 July] between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Palestinian National Authority [PNA] President Mahmud Abbas.

As a result of inter-Palestinian clashes in June this year, only the West Bank of the Jordan now remains under the PNA head’s jurisdiction, while the Gaza Strip is now under full control of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas.

“In the current critical situation, the Palestine cannot under any circumstances be allowed to split into two isolated entities,” the Russian Foreign Ministry press release says.

At the talks, Lavrov “stressed the need to restore Palestinian unity through dialogue between all the political forces”, the press release notes.

“This will create favourable prerequisites to resume the Palestinian-Israeli settlement process on the solid foundations of international law, with the ultimate aim of creating a sovereign, viable and territorially integral Palestinian state,” the Russian Foreign Ministry believes.

At the meeting between the Russian foreign minister and the PNA president, the two sides expressed their “concern with the sharp deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip,” the document says.

The parties stressed the importance of urgent measures to improve it and to solve the acute socio-economic problems of the Palestinians. The Russian side reaffirmed its readiness to continue rendering all kind of humanitarian and other assistance to the Palestinians, the Foreign Ministry press release notes.

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