Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow, August 13. (Source: AFP)

On August 12-14, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Russia, holding talks with his host counterpart Vladimir Putin. A day later, he traveled to Ankara, addressing the Turkish Parliament and holding talks with President Tayyip Erdogan. What was there in Mr. Abbas’s trip amid the “hot water and fire” moment?

Win-win

In Moscow, President Mahmoud Abbas held his first meeting with his host counterpart Vladimir Putin in six years. Notably, unlike the previous meeting, this time it took place in the context of the Gaza Strip becoming a battlefield for the conflict between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Hamas movement.

Just before the visit, on August 10, an IDF airstrike on a school in Gaza City, which Israel said was a Hamas military base, killed 93 people, bringing the number of Palestinians killed since October 2023 to over 40,000. However, the IDF asserted that Hamas had exaggerated the number of casualties in the August 10 school attack.

In that context, it is not difficult to understand why the focus of the discussion between the two Palestinian and Russian leaders revolved around the situation in the Gaza Strip and the Middle East. Here, Mr. Abbas stated: “The United Nations (UN), under pressure from the US, has failed to pass a solution to protect the rights of the Palestinian people.” At the same time, he emphasized: “We are patient and steadfast in protecting the territory and propose to end the fighting, stop the displacement of Palestinians and increase humanitarian aid.”

Notably, Mr. Abbas made the above statement at the same time as the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting at the request of Algeria on the situation in the Middle East, in which the Gaza issue was the focus. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized the attack on the school and welcomed the initiative of Egypt, Qatar and the US to move towards a ceasefire, release of hostages and humanitarian relief. For his part, Deputy Head of the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said that the Security Council should consider solutions that could help ease tensions in Gaza, such as a joint inspection plan to this territory.

Meanwhile, during talks with a guest from the Middle East, President Vladimir Putin “believes that to ensure lasting, stable and sustainable peace in the region, it is necessary to establish a full-fledged Palestinian state”. The head of the Russian birch tree affirmed that his country “cares about and understands the great pain” in Palestine. Up to now, Russia has sent 700 tons of aid, including goods and necessities of all kinds, to the Gaza Strip.

However, according to some observers, Russia needs to play a more active role in the conflict in the Gaza Strip. In October 2023, a Russian-proposed resolution at the Security Council on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was vetoed by the US, UK, France and Japan.

In February 2024, a conference between Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad in Palestine hosted by Russia ended without any results. Professor Samuel Ramani at Oxford University (UK), author of the book "Russia in Africa", commented that the meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Abbas not only expressed Russia's views on Palestine, but also contributed to strengthening the country's soft power in the Middle East.

In turn, Mr. Abbas reaffirmed the support of Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, on the Palestinian issue, and called on Moscow not to support Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip. This was reflected in the statement of Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the Israeli attack on August 10, when she called on Israel to “stop attacking civilians” and “we believe that there is no reason for such activity.”

New friend

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s visit to Türkiye reflects the increasingly close ties between the two countries. According to Turkish media, the invitation for Abbas to visit and address the Knesset was a response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the US Congress on July 24, where he was warmly welcomed and applauded.

Since the conflict in the Gaza Strip broke out, Ankara has been strongly critical of the Jewish State, causing serious damage to bilateral relations. In early May, Türkiye suspended all imports and exports to Israel, which had reached $6.8 billion (2023). President Tayyip Erdogan even left open the possibility of sending troops “into Israel” to help the Palestinians, although the possibility of this is low. As a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Ankara voted to block cooperation between the bloc and Israel over the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

The solemn reception of Mr. Abbas reflects Türkiye's clear stance on the conflict in the Gaza Strip, thereby strengthening relations with the Gulf Muslim countries in particular and the country's position and role in the Middle East region in general.

On the Palestinian side, the visit reflects the reality that many countries and territories continue to support this country, with the ultimate goal of ending the conflict and restoring peace in the troubled and painful land of Gaza.