RIAC and Fatah Leaders Discuss Middle East Settlement
Short version
On January 21, 2014 in view of the coming visit of the PNA President Mahmoud Abbas to Moscow, RIAC members and experts met a Palestinian delegation headed by Dr. Nabil Shaath, Fatah Commissioner for International Relations. On the eve of Mr. Abbas’s arrival, Moscow was visited by Dr. Nabil Shaath, member of Fatah Central Committee, Commissioner for International Relations and Palestinian ex-foreign minister, who met a group of RIAC members and experts. The parties discussed the Middle East negotiation process, recent developments within the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the continuing instability in the Greater Middle East caused by the Arab Spring.
Full version
On January 21, 2014 in view of the coming visit of the PNA President Mahmoud Abbas to Moscow, RIAC members and experts met a Palestinian delegation headed by Dr. Nabil Shaath, Fatah Commissioner for International Relations.
The recent trip of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to the Middle East has brought no tangible shifts in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict settlement. Although signing of a long-term peace agreement between the two sides is still scheduled for this spring, scholars doubt it is possible and keep searching for ways to resolve the 50-year-long conflict. On January 11, 2014 Mr. Abbas said talks with Israel should be preceded by the Palestinian national reconciliation and rejected linkage between liberation of Palestinian prisoners and construction of Jewish settlements. The uncertain status of Jerusalem is another serious impediment to successful negotiations.
On the eve of Mr. Abbas’s arrival, Moscow was visited by Dr. Nabil Shaath, member of Fatah Central Committee, Commissioner for International Relations and Palestinian ex-foreign minister, who met a group of RIAC members and experts. The parties discussed the Middle East negotiation process, recent developments within the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the continuing instability in the Greater Middle East caused by the Arab Spring.
Attended by Palestinian Ambassador to Moscow Fayed Mustafa, the event was held behind closed doors and followed by Dr. Shaath’s questions-and-answers session for journalists.