Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold a round of talks with the Secretary-General of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Nayef Hawatmeh, focusing on the reconciliation file and other political developments.
Talks with Hawatmeh fall within consultations that Moscow has recently intensified with the Palestinian factions, with the aim of ending internal divisions.
Lavrov and Hawatmeh are expected to hold a discussion session, to be followed by a round of detailed negotiations with Deputy Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, and the Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic team in charge of the Middle East file.
“This is Moscow’s third attempt to push towards solutions that would end the rift between Fatah and Hamas, and rebuild the Palestinian unity based on documents previously reached within the PLO, mainly the decisions of the Central Council in 2015 and 2018 and the National Council in 2018,” Hawatment told Asharq Al-Awsat.
These decisions “were taken unanimously with the participation of all factions of the organization, and in the presence of other factions,” he underlined.
Last week, Lavrov held a round of talks with the Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine, Ziad Nakhalh. A statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the talks between the two sides focused on developments regarding the peace process in the Middle East, especially the situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The meeting also touched on the need to accelerate the restoration of Palestinian national unity on the political agenda of the Palestine Liberation Organization, as a necessary condition for launching direct negotiations with Israel.
