Blinken Stops Trying To Convince Palestine To Denounce Russia - Palestinian Top Diplomat

Blinken Stops Trying to Convince Palestine to Denounce Russia - Palestinian Top Diplomat

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not appeal to the Palestinian leadership with a demand that it condemn Russia's military operation in Ukraine during his visit to the Middle East this week a sign that Washington has apparently realized the futility of such attempts, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki told Sputnik

RAMALLAH (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd February, 2023) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not appeal to the Palestinian leadership with a demand that it condemn Russia's military operation in Ukraine during his visit to the Middle East this week a sign that Washington has apparently realized the futility of such attempts, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki told Sputnik.

The US's top diplomat made a three-day trip to the Middle East from January 29-31 to discuss a number of global and regional issues, with the Ukraine conflict on the agenda. As part of his tour, Blinken visited Egypt, Israel and the West Bank, where he met with the Palestinian leadership, including President Mahmoud Abbas.

"This time he did not speak about Ukraine and Russia. Yes, in previous meetings, he did, not in this one because I believe he came to the conclusion that he cannot get that condemnation from us. He realized where we stand, and that requesting further positions from the Palestinian side won't really change anything. So I think he came to that conclusion, and that's why he avoided being embarrassed by raising this issue again this time," al-Maliki said.

At the same time, the pressure with regard to this issue still continues, the Palestinian top diplomat said, adding that some EU foreign ministers had raised the Ukraine issue during talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in Brussels last week.

"Obviously, we answered once again promptly and forcefully. And so they stopped raising this issue. I believe we have managed since day one to present our positions clearly. And I think many countries realized that they cannot really extract from us any position that contradicts with our principles and where we stand in terms of our relationship with Russia," al-Maliki told Sputnik.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.