Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced today that he would no longer accept the United States as a mediator in talks with Israel. Instead, Abbas said that a negotiation process similar to the multi-national one used in the Iran nuclear agreement would be one the Palestinian Authority could support. In a meeting earlier today with Russian thug and autocrat Vladimir Putin, Abbas said that the U.S.'s action in moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem prompted the action, a move that has angered Muslim countries in the region.
The venue of Abbas' announcement in the Kremlin was significant, in that Russia has wanted to play a major role in Middle East negotiations for years to exercise its influence in that region. Interestingly, prior to his meeting with Abbas, Putin had a phone conversation with his U.S. representative, sociopathic demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump. Putin told Abbas that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had been brought up over the phone, and that Rump asked Putin to convey to Abbas "his best wishes." No indication whether Putin was grinning when he said that. Reassuring, isn't it, that Rump has out-sourced this important piece of our foreign policy to the Kremlin. He's working his son-in-law Jared out of a job.
(photo: The dealmaker)
