Russia remains major player in Palestine-Israel peace process: Abbas

Russia remains a major player in the peace process between Palestine and Israel, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday.

"Historically, Russia has been playing an important role in supporting the Palestinian problem. A further increase of this role has vast prospects, since it can accelerate the guaranteed, fair and balanced political settlement," Abbas told the Interfax news agency ahead of his visit to Russia due on Thursday.

Palestine is aware of Russia's role and political weight in helping "forge a fair and lasting solution" to the Palestine-Israel issue, Abbas said, adding that Palestine wants to maintain contact with President Vladimir Putin and the Russian leadership.

"The United States has been engaged in the Palestine-Israel talks from the start and we hope the U.S. role will be efficient and balanced. At the same time, we would like the other parties like Russia, the European Union, China and the UN to play an influential role in these talks," Abbas noted.

As for bilateral ties between Palestine and Russia, Abbas said Russia "has supported Palestinians in the time of trials."

"Russia has been a source of diversified political, economic and diplomatic assistance ... It has been supporting our struggle and our efforts to put an end to the occupation and to form an independent Palestinian state," he added.