Palestinian Foreign Minister Considering Trip to Moscow in Coming Months
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki told Sputnik he was considering traveling to Moscow in the next two months at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov
RAMALLAH (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd February, 2023) Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki told Sputnik he was considering traveling to Moscow in the next two months at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
"Minister Sergey Lavrov, in his telephone call, invited me to Moscow and I will see when to make that visit," he said in an interview, adding he was considering a trip "probably in the next couple of months."
Lavrov last spoke to al-Maliki and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen over the phone in late January. He called on both nations to exercise maximum restraint after a deadly shooting near a synagogue on the outskirts of Jerusalem and an Israeli raid on a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank.
The bloodshed underlined tensions in the contested territories that have marred the first weeks of Israeli's new far-right government.
Al-Maliki said he enjoyed discussing bilateral relations, but also regional and international issues, with Lavrov.
He also suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas would continue their annual meetings this year, "when the time really comes and when both leaders feel that there is a need for them to meet in order to exchange views."