Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday pledged his nation's continued support in helping the Palestinians acquire a modern, unified and sovereign state. Medvedev, who was in Amman for talks with King Abdullah II, also found time on the final day of his two-day trip to the region to take a dip in the Jordan River in commemoration of Jesus' baptism.
In a statement released by the royal palace after his meeting with Abdullah, Medvedev was quoted as telling the king that Moscow "will do its utmost to achieve a permanent peace in the Middle East." The Russian leader's visit comes during a time of deadlock in the US-led Mideast peace efforts. Moscow is a member of the so-called Quartet of Mideast peace makers along with the US, the EU and the UN Medvedev met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday in the West Bank, where he gave Palestinian aspirations a boost.
"I told my Palestinian friends that our ultimate goal is the creation of a modern, unified and sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," Medvedev said Wednesday.
He did not visit Israel during the trip because of a strike by Israeli diplomats. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks briefly resumed in September, but quickly collapsed after a slowdown on Israeli settlement construction expired. The Palestinians say they won't negotiate unless Israel halts all construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, captured lands sought by the Palestinians for their state. Israel has rejected calls to renew the freeze, and the Obama administration has been unable to bring the sides together again.
Comments
Comments are closed.