Palestinian president hosts senior U.S. officials ahead of Biden's visit

Ramallah [Palestine], June 12 (ANI/Xinhua): Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday held a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah with visiting U.S. senior diplomats ahead of an expected visit of U.S. President Joe Biden.

During the meeting, Abbas called on the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr to remove the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from the list of terrorism and reopen the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem.

Abbas said the PLO "is a full peace partner and had signed a series of peace agreements, sponsored by the U.S., with Israel," the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Abbas also urged the U.S. side to work on reopening the closed offices of the PLO in Washington, noting that the PLO "is committed to the peace process and stopping all unilateral actions."

According to WAFA, Leaf reiterated that the United States is committed to the two-state solution and the mission of her delegation "is to prepare for the visit of President Joe Biden, who wants to meet Abbas."

She said that Biden would discuss with Abbas strengthening the Palestinian-American partnership and relations and finding ways to stop the escalation in the region and move to the political horizon.

"The U.S. administration is keen to create an appropriate environment and to give hope to the Palestinians and all peoples of the region," Leaf said, according to WAFA. (ANI/Xinhua)

Source: WORLD