OREANDA-NEWS. Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Meeting with President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas

Meeting with President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas

4 hours ago

Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President, I’m pleased to see you again. Our relations have traditionally been friendly, and we maintain a trust-based dialogue with our Palestinian partners.

You have just spoken with President Putin and then met with Patriarch Kirill. As always, it has been a very busy visit.

First off, I’d like to say that we support the Palestinian people on all issues and support their desire to strengthen their statehood. Of course, we are willing to continue to assist you in developing the foundations of a Palestinian state and conducting socioeconomic reform.

Now, we can focus on our economic cooperation.

The situation hasn’t improved much since our last meeting. It remains tense and complex, be it the Palestinian-Israeli relations, or the situation in the Arab world in general. I would like to get an update from you, first hand, as they say.

Mahmoud Abbas (viainterpreter): Mr Prime Minister, thank you for this meeting and for your time. This is not our first meeting, and we have had a lot of opportunities in the past to exchange views in a candid manner. First of all, let me wish you a happy bright Easter holiday. I wish you all the best and would like to say that we in Palestine – both Christians and Muslims – celebrate this holiday together. You should have seen yesterday's celebrations in Ramallah, where people went outside and gave each other presents and sweets regardless of their religious affiliation.

It is very important that sympathy and mutual love historically reign among all members of Palestinian society.

I would also like to say that we were very pleased to accept the invitation to attend the 9 May celebrations in Moscow. For us, it is a great honour, and we are aware that it is a subject of great pride for the Russian people.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you for accepting our invitation.

Mahmoud Abbas: This is our duty. We are very pleased to do so.