Palestine expects “restart” of relations with Russia

The head of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, plans to visit Moscow this year. There are no details of the planned visit yet, but Abdel Hafiz Nofal, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Palestine to the Russian Federation, says that “everyone knows the position of Russia in relation to the struggle of the Palestinian people, but Russia has relations with Israel. We know that Mahmoud Abbas has visited your country at least 2-3 times and met with President Vladimir Putin, visited a friendly Russia. So, of course, we need a certain kind of restart in our relations, so they become more intensive and develop efficiently to ensure the coordination of our efforts to combat ISIS, to fight terrorism in order to find a fair solution to the problems we face.”

According to the diplomat, the figures that we now have on trade and so on are clearly inadequate for the level of our relations which should be achieved. And the sides are determined to develop bilateral relations.

“The pulp and paper industry, electric power, electrical equipment and so on, all these are promising spheres of the development of our relations. The creation of free industrial zones is also very important for us. Any partnership with the Russian side on this issue is welcomed by us and will open up new opportunities. We can also export marble, a variety of products. We export various pharmaceuticals, agricultural products,” Abdel Hafiz Nofal says.

He thinks that to solve these issues, a Palestinian commercial center could be established in Moscow.