The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe, a situation worsened by decisions to cut off electricity and basic goods in the region, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"Tensions are also growing in the West Bank. The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe in the full sense of the word," the Russian leader said.
„Russia has consistently advocated for humanitarian access and the resumption of the Middle East peace process. Unfortunately, the situation is only getting worse. I just spoke about the humanitarian crisis and the catastrophe. The situation is being worsened by the decisions to ban even humanitarian aid, the delivery of essential goods and electricity to the Gaza Strip, which is particularly worrying,“ he stressed.
Putin declared that Russia, as a friend of the Palestinian people, is trying to provide assistance regularly. According to him, over 800 tons of goods, including food, medicine and other essential products, were delivered to those in need last year.
“We have always been convinced that sustainable peace in the region can only be achieved on a universally recognized international legal basis, which presupposes the creation of two states for two peoples,“ he stressed.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas thanked his Russian counterpart for the warm welcome in the Kremlin and said he was happy to visit Moscow on the occasion of Victory Day.
"It is a great honor for us to participate in the celebrations of the victory over fascism. We know that it was the people of the USSR who paid the highest price for achieving this victory, but we believe that this is also a holiday for the Palestinian people and we should celebrate this date together," Abbas stressed, the Russia-24 television channel reported.
The negotiations from the Palestinian side were also attended by the recently appointed Vice President of Palestine, Hussein al-Sheikh, who previously held the post of Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.