Speaking at the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, President Putin stressed that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should only have a resolution based on international law.
Mahmoud Abbas, in his turn, underlined that Russian participation is crucial for the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel and Palestine have been engaged in a decades-long conflict, with multiple rounds of peace talks having failed over the years. Palestine wants to establish an independent state in the territories of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, within the borders that existed before the Six-Day War in 1967. Israel, however, has been skeptical of a UN-promoted two-state solution that would allow for peaceful co-existence of both the Israeli and Palestinian states.
Radio Sputnik discussed the issue with a former Israeli ambassador to Russia who is currently a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, Zvi Mage.
"Moscow is an important actor in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process aimed at resolving the long-term crisis between the two states. But it is supposed to be able to bring both sides into a real negotiation process. Thus it needs to have leverage on both sides to work. Without the leverage, I don't see any positive results for the time being," he told Sputnik.
The US is also trying to play an active part in this conflict resolution. Earlier President Trump stated that lasting Israeli Palestinian peace was within reach.
"It depends on its ability to bring the sides to the table, which I am not sure of. And they have to create a positive international atmosphere. Otherwise it won't be able to conduct an objective process. The main problem is the lack of a positive atmosphere and the US’ will to cooperate with all other actors in the area," he told Sputnik.
