World leaders normally visit Israel
before visiting Palestine to show impartiality, but it was not so when
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made his first visit to Palestine. His
visit to Palestine was not united with a visit to another country.
President Medvedev’s visit was also distinguished by his backing of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In the meeting with PA President Mahmoud
Abbas in Jerico, President Medvedev said, “Russia will support the
inalienable right of the Palestinian people to form an independent state
with its capital in East Jerusalem.”
Today 109 states out of 192 United
Nations member countries recognise Palestinian statehood. Israel has
been alarmed in the past two months by a string of recognitions by Latin
American states including Brazil, Argentina and Chile.
In May 2010, Medvedev held a trilateral
summit with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hamas politburo chief
Khalid Mishaal. The historic meeting secured Hamas's place in the
international political scene.
“Medvedev drove into the West Bank in a
convoy from Amman airport in Jordan, crossing over the historic Allenby
Bridge in an unusual route for a head of state..” reports Israel’s
Haaretz online newspaper.
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Image: Russia's President Medvedev and his Palestinian counterpart Abbas shake hands during a news conference in Jericho.
________________________________________________________Written by: Ibrahim Nazim
27 January 2011, Thursday
23 Safar 1432
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