Putin pledges help for Palestinians
Reuters
Date: 04-29-05
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin promised help for rebuilding Palestinian security forces and boosting Middle East peacemaking on Friday during the first visit by a Russian leader to the Palestinian territories.
Putin said Russia would deliver helicopters for President Mahmoud Abbas. But he made no mention of dozens of armoured personnel carriers which the Palestinians had hoped for and which Israel opposed.
"We understand that the Palestinians, in order to enforce the law in this region, need to have all the necessary resources," said Putin after meeting Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
"We understand they can't do so using slingshots and stones. Israel understands this too."
Putin, on a Middle East tour that also took him to Israel and Egypt, is trying to revive the regional influence that Moscow lost after the Cold War.
In Ramallah, Putin placed a wreath at the tomb of Yasser Arafat, whose death last year and replacement by Abbas has buoyed hopes for peacemaking. Abbas agreed a ceasefire with Israel and told his police to enforce it with an "iron fist".
Palestinians had hoped Putin would promise to send 50 armoured vehicles for security forces battered by a 4-1/2 year uprising with Israel, as well as two transport helicopters.
But senior Israeli officials said any such offer would be unacceptable to the Jewish state, where Putin tried on Thursday to allay concerns over Russia's planned arms sales to neighbouring Syria and help for Iran's nuclear programme.
HELP AFTER ISRAELI WITHDRAWAL
Palestinian officials said Russia would try to reach a deal with Israel on allowing the armoured vehicles in. Putin also pledged help for the Palestinian economy, particularly when Israel leaves the occupied Gaza Strip this summer.
Russia, alongside the United States, United Nations and European Union, forms the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators. Foreign ministers from the group are due to meet in Moscow next month.
Despite the ceasefire and Israel's plan to remove the Gaza settlements, progress is slow on the internationally-backed peace "road map" -- which calls on Israel to freeze settlement growth and the Palestinians to dismantle militant groups.
"Unfortunately, these is still a lot of distrust and grievances," said Putin. "In this fragile situation it is really important that both sides do not get sidetracked from their previous agreements."
Abbas stressed his commitment to the truce. Palestinian forces arrested two militants on Thursday for violating it.
Moscow has proposed various ways of speeding up the Middle East peace process and has often criticised Israel's handling of the Palestinian uprising, but its ideas have met little sympathy in Israel, happy to keep Washington as the main power broker.
Russia backed away from a plan to hold a peace conference in Moscow after it was criticised by Israel and the United States. Palestinians immediately supported the plan.
For decades, the Soviet Union, which severed relations with Israel in 1967, was a key sponsor of Palestinian groups fighting against Israel. Relations were restored in 1991 following the collapse of communism, a period that also saw mass migration of Jews from the Soviet Union to Israel.
Putin sought to soothe Israeli concerns on Thursday about its planned sale of short-range missiles to Syria and agreement to supply nuclear fuel to Iran, accused by Israel and the United States of trying to make atomic bombs.
In Jerusalem and Ramallah, Putin reiterated that Russia was opposed to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.
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