"We attach great significance to the coordination of all issues relating to the situation in the region with the Russian side, and we believe it is important and intend to continue this practice," Mahmoud Abbas said.
He expressed his gratitude to Russia for its assistance following Israel's three-week offensive on the Gaza Strip earlier this year. "The people feel and are aware of the assistance," he said.
In mid-January Israel ended its attack against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip which saw some 1,300 Palestinians killed and 5,000 injured. The tragic events in Gaza pushed the conflicting Palestinian groups to seek dialogue in order to form a single government.
Russia, along with the UN, the U.S. and European Union, comprises part of the Middle East Quartet of intermediaries which is actively seeking ways to bring the Israeli and Arab positions closer.
The Hamas and Fatah movements, the largest political organizations, split in June 2007 when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip and pushed the Fatah movement out of the enclave of 1.5 million. Hamas has since remained in power in Gaza, independent of the officially recognized government of Fatah in the West Bank, which is headed by Abbas.
