Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy for the Middle East, on Sept. 5 in Jerusalem. Netanyahu’s office said the two discussed the possibility of a meeting between him and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, including Putin’s proposal to host the meeting.

“The Prime Minister presented Israel’s position that he is always ready to meet with President Abbas directly and without preconditions,” the statement read. “He is therefore reviewing the Russian President’s proposal and the timing of a possible meeting.” Abbas allegedly confirmed to Abed al-Hafeez Nofa, the Palestinian Ambassador to Russia, that he had agreed to meet with Netanyahu in Moscow with Putin’s mediation, according to AFP news agency.

However, Palestinian officials in Ramallah denied the report that Abbas accepted the Russian proposal, i24news reported.

Nofa also claimed Israel was “ evading the requirements of the meeting.”

By JLNJ Staff