The Palestinian factions that are set to participate in the upcoming inter-Palestinian consultations slated to take place in Moscow in mid-February are expected to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on February 13, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2019) The Palestinian factions that are set to participate in the upcoming inter-Palestinian consultations slated to take place in Moscow in mid-February are expected to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on February 13, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik.
Earlier in January, Nofal told Sputnik that Russia had invited 10 Palestinian factions to take part in the inter-Palestinian meeting in Moscow on February 13-14.
"For two days Moscow will host talks between different Palestinian factions. The Russian side will host and mediate talks. On [February] 13 the [Palestinian] factions are scheduled to meet Minister Lavrov. After that the Russian side will issue a statement," the ambassador said.
According to the diplomat, Russia's initiative to host Palestinian consultations complements the efforts made by Egypt, which has been acting as a mediator in talks between the Palestinian factions.
"The Russian initiative is complementary to the Egyptian one. Mr. [Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail] Bogdanov was in Egypt yesterday to discuss ways to facilitate the process," the ambassador added.
The partially recognized state of Palestine is currently divided between two major factions Fatah, which governs the West Bank, and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. In 2005, following the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from Gaza, the Palestinian National Authority a governing body for both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank took control of both the enclaves. But the unity between two parts of Palestine did not last long as in 2006 a conflict erupted between Fatah and Hamas, and the two groups started governing the West Bank and the Gaza Strip separately.
