Visits of Russian, French and British leaders consolidate legal status for Palestine

The visits of Russian, French and British leaders to the West Bank consolidate the legal status for the establishment of the state of Palestine, a senior Palestinian official said on Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's Prince Charles had been invited to visit Israel to attend the International Holocaust Forum.

"The visits of Russia, France and Britain leaders emphasize the pivotal rule of Palestine in achieving security and stability in the region," Ahmad Majdalani, an official in Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told reporters in Ramallah.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Ramallah on Wednesday night with French President Macron. He will meet later on Thursday with Russian President Putin in Bethlehem, and on Friday Abbas will meet with British Prince Charles in Ramallah.

The PLO official called on the leaders of the three countries "to act on saving the principle of the two-state solution, away from the U.S. sponsorship that has always been always to Israel."

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians had stopped in 2014 due to the deep differences between the two sides on the borders of the state of Palestine and the expansion of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Political ties between the Palestinian Authority and the United States had been severed right after U.S. President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017 and moved the U.S. embassy to the city in 2018.