The president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas will visit Russia from August 12 to 14, where he is expected to meet with Vladimir Putinwas made known today by a Palestinian official.

“The president will arrive on the evening of August 12. On Tuesday, he is expected to meet with President Putin (…). He is leaving on the 14th, but there will be a meeting with ambassadors of Arab countries,” said Mr Abdel Hafiz Nofalthe Palestinian ambassador in Moscow, as reported by the Russian news agency TASS.

According to the diplomat, the main topic of the talks will be “the situation in Gaza”. “We will talk about Russia’s role and what it can do. The situation is very difficult there and Russia is a country close to us,” he said.

A source from his office Mahmoud Abbas confirmed to AFP this visit, clarifying that Abbas will then travel to Turkey.

In early November, a long-planned visit to Russia by Mahmoud Abbas was postponed.

After Moscow, Abbas is expected to visit Turkey to meet with the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, before delivering a speech before the Turkish National Assembly in Ankara.