Abbas: ‘No meeting with Netanyahu in Moscow’

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that there will be “no meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow,” Arab48.com reported.

In a joint press conference held in Warsaw, Poland, with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, Abbas said that the Russian President Vladimir Putin had suggested holding a meeting in Moscow on 9 September, adding that he agreed and planned to travel directly from Warsaw to Moscow.

“Unfortunately, Putin’s representative held a meeting with Netanyahu’s representative on Monday in Jerusalem and the latter suggested putting off the Moscow meeting. Therefore, there is no meeting on the scheduled date.”

Abbas reiterated that he was ready for a meeting in Moscow or anywhere in the world because “dialogue is important for establishing an independent state living safely and securely side by side with Israel.”

The last meeting regarding the peace talks between the two sides was in 2014.