In late August, Palestine’s Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal announced that “President Putin has officially invited [President of the State of Palestine] Mahmoud Abbas to participate in the BRICS summit to be held in Kazan in October,” according to TASS. The BRICS Summit is scheduled for Oct. 22-24.
“After our first participation in the summit we will send an application for joining this association. Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that one session would be fully devoted to Palestine. We have the most positive expectations from this summit,” he said.
“This invitation means that despite all the crimes, killings and destruction in the Gaza Strip, our message is that Palestine wants to live and to develop,” he asserted.
Palestine President Abbas had an official meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 13, and told TASS at the time that “we have discussed our vision regarding the possible development of events in the nearest future and what it could lead to during such complicated times … we have certainly also discussed bilateral relations, because we enjoy a very long-standing strategic relationship with Russia….
“We have also discussed BRICS. We have reached a verbal agreement that Palestine would be invited [to attend this forum] in the ‘outreach’ format,” Abbas stated, a particular format of a meeting could be organized and it will be devoted exclusively to Palestine, so that all countries would voice their views on the developments that are taking place in this area.
“It will all be as relevant as possible, considering the fact that the [member] countries of this association [BRICS] are all friendly to Palestine,” Abbas said.
The Kremlin has confirmed that as of Oct. 10, the leaders of 32 countries would be participating in the BRICS summit, but the composition of the delegation from Palestine has not yet been confirmed, nor even that Abbas could definitely attend.
