Russian President Putin hosts PA leader Abbas, expresses support for 'Palestine'

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Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow while expressing support for “Palestine” amid the ongoing war against Israel, which the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza initiated.

“Everyone is well aware that Russia today, unfortunately, must defend its interests and defend its people with arms in hand. But what is happening in the Middle East, what is happening in Palestine, of course, does not go unnoticed on our part,” Putin reportedly stated, according to an official Kremlin transcript.

“And of course, we are watching with great pain and anxiety the humanitarian catastrophe that has unfolded in Palestine,” the Russian leader added, likely referring to the situation in Gaza, after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and massacred 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7 and kidnapped over 250 people.

Putin also conveyed Russia’s support for upgrading the Palestinian Authority (PA) to full statehood and claimed that Moscow is “concerned above all about civilian losses” in Gaza.

“We are doing everything… to support Palestine and the Palestinian people,” he stated, adding that “long-lasting, reliable, stable peace in the region” requires the “creation of a fully-fledged Palestinian state.”

Abbas praised Putin and described Russia as one of the PA's “dearest friends.”

“We believe in you, we trust you and we feel your support,” the PA leader said.

Abbas, who has a strong personal connection to Russia, earned a PhD from Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow, where he embraced Holocaust denial in a doctoral dissertation focusing on the alleged connection between Nazism and Zionism, the Jewish national liberation movement.

Abbas called on Russia, which holds a veto at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), to intervene and “halt Israel’s actions” following last month’s advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which deemed Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and East Jerusalem as illegal.

While Russia was never considered to be an ally of Israel, the two countries maintained relatively stable diplomatic relations before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Israel previously coordinated its military operations against Iranian targets in Syria with Russia, given Moscow's military presence in the region. However, Russian-Israeli relations have become increasingly strained, with the dynamics of their relationship being significantly impacted by geopolitical events, including the Ukraine conflict.

Unlike the United States and most Western democracies, Russia has so far not officially condemned the Hamas Oct. 7 atrocities against Israeli civilians including women, children and the elderly. Mere weeks after the Hamas attack, Russia hosted senior Hamas terrorist leaders in Moscow, a move that was perceived as hostile by Israeli leaders.

In November, Russia's UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya claimed that the Jewish state, as an “occupying power,” does not have the right to self-defense against the terrorist organization Hamas. At the time, he also condemned Western nations for backing Israel.

“The only thing they can muster is continued pronouncements about Israel’s supposed right to self-defense, although as an occupying power, it does not have that power as confirmed by the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice handed down in 2004,” Nebenzya stated.

The Russian UN envoy’s statement was incorrect, as Hamas launched the attacks from Gaza, a territory from which Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005. Nebenzya's comments are also noteworthy given Russia’s ongoing occupation of parts of Ukraine, which raises concerns about international law compliance.