WASHINGTON – State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel reiterated the Biden administration’s disappointment with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas over his recent remarks in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
“Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine is a clear violation of international law, and it serves as a threat to global peace and security,” Patel said at the daily briefing on Monday. “President Putin is a far cry from the type of international partner or international leader needed to constructively address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We are deeply disappointed to hear President Abbas’s remarks to Putin. Russia does not stand for justice in international law, as was evidenced by the UN General Assembly vote last week.”
Patel said that in contrast, President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken “have demonstrated a US commitment for decades to seeking creative solutions and working toward a lasting peace in the region that is required to advance stability and prosperity throughout the region.”
At the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia in Kazakhstan last week, Abbas told Putin: “We don’t trust America, and you know our position. We don’t trust it, we don’t rely on it, and under no circumstances can we accept that America is the sole party in resolving a problem. It can be within the Quartet since it is a great country, but we will never accept it as the only one.”
Reuters contributed to this report.