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Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas has said that his country will be now expecting an invitation to attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Russia in the 'outreach' format.
"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 said in an interview to state media TASS after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow The two leaders discussed bilateral ties between the two countries. Stating that all member countries of BRICS- Brazil, India, China, Russia, and South Africa along with Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates share friendly ties with Palestine, Abbas said, "It will all be as relevant as possible, considering the fact that the countries of this association are all friendly to Palestine." According to the Palestinian leader, "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." Russia took over the BRICS' year-long presidency on January 1, 2024, and will hold a key BRICS summit in Kazan in October 2024. Set up in 2006, BRICS has experienced two phases of expansion. In 2011, South Africa joined the original group, which included Brazil, Russia, India, and China. On January 1, 2024, five new members officially entered BRICS, namely Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia. The Palestinian leader was cited by TASS as saying that he and Putin managed to discuss "all issues that were of concern for both parties." "Our meeting lasted for almost two hours and you can imagine that there were no forbidden issues among us as we had discussed all issues concerning both parties," Abbas added. The Palestine Authority chief also talked about the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and potential retaliation from Iran. He told TASS in an interview on Tuesday that It is still not possible to predict the exact timing of Iran's retaliatory attack against Israel as Iran may avenge Haniyeh's assassination in the coming days or even hours. Abbas said, "we hope the situation in the region does not escalate because it is difficult to assess its consequences". Tensions flared up in West Asia since October 7, 2023, when Hamas a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking hostages. In response, Israel launched a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to destroy Hamas military and political wings and free all hostages. Another round of escalation in West Asia followed the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the elimination of Hezbollah top military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah held Israel responsible and asserted that the attacks will be met with retaliation. (ANI)
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