Abbas to Visit Moscow to Activate Int’l Quartet

President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/Pool
President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/Pool
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Abbas to Visit Moscow to Activate Int’l Quartet

President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/Pool
President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/Pool

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to visit Moscow soon to discuss with Russian officials the Palestinian cause, according to presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh.

Abu Rudeineh did not give further details, stressing the good ties between the two countries.

"Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has recently visited Russia. We are planning negotiations with the leadership of the Palestinian National Authority," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"Our proposal to hold a Palestinian-Israeli summit meeting in Moscow remains relevant," the Ministry added.

The Foreign Ministry pointed out that Russia also calls for convening a ministerial meeting of the Middle East Quartet in cooperation with the Arab League to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

This is not the first time Russia attempts to mediate between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Moscow had previously encouraged a meeting between Abbas and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Reliable Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Abbas hopes for Russian pressure towards activating the Quartet.

The sources added that there is coordination and ongoing Palestinian-Russian attempts to activate the Quartet, consisting of the US, Russia, the EU, and the UN.

Yet, the US is not likely to take such step over concerns that the pressure might cause the collapse of the coalition government in Israel.

The authority has demanded reactivating the Quartet committee and expressed willingness to engage in talks brokered by it.

The Quartet was formed in 2002 to sponsor the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, but it’s role ended because the parties believed it was ineffective.

The Trump administration rejected to reactivate it unless the Palestinians agreed to a peace solution according to his so-called Deal of the Century proposal.

The committee held its first meeting on March 24 after Joe Biden assumed the US presidency. It called for resuming meaningful negotiations based on a two-state solution in line with international resolutions.



Family of Murdered Libyan Calls for Retrial of Saadi Gaddafi

 
File photo of Saadi Gaddafi (AFP)
File photo of Saadi Gaddafi (AFP)
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Family of Murdered Libyan Calls for Retrial of Saadi Gaddafi

 
File photo of Saadi Gaddafi (AFP)
File photo of Saadi Gaddafi (AFP)

The family of the murdered Libyan footballer Bashir Al-Riani has vowed not to “forfeit his blood” after the country’s Supreme Court overturned the acquittal of Saadi Gaddafi in the case.

The Tripoli Court of Appeals in April 2018 had acquitted the son of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi of charges related to Al-Riani’s torture and murder in 2005. Despite the acquittal, Saadi remained imprisoned until his release on Sept. 6 2021, after which he reportedly left for Turkiye.

In a video statement, Al-Riani’s son announced that the Supreme Court had overturned Saadi’s acquittal and accepted an appeal against it, returning the case to the Tripoli Court of Appeals. He asserted this decision as proof of Saadi’s guilt and vowed to pursue justice until the trial is completed.

While no comment was issued by Saadi’s supporters regarding the Supreme Court’s decision, Ahmed Nashad, a Libyan lawyer and head of the defense team for Abdullah Senussi, former intelligence chief under Gaddafi, explained that overturning Saadi’s acquittal requires a new trial before the Tripoli Court of Appeals.

Al-Riani was found dead in 2005 near Saadi’s seaside residence. Saadi was accused of torturing and killing him, though accounts of the incident vary widely.

In June 2014, former Attorney General Abdelkader Jumaa Radwan referred Saadi’s case to the indictment chamber of the North Tripoli Primary Court after concluding the investigation.

Saadi, 50, was a former football player. He tried in vain to establish a football career in the Italian League, before leading an elite military unit.

Some Libyans, who oppose the Gaddafi regime, say that Saadi heard Al-Riani saying that the man was not talented at football. Meanwhile, another unreliable story states that Al-Riani was drunk and refused to obey Saadi’s guards, so they shot him. This story is denied by the victim’s family.

A former political official close to the Government of National Unity said that Saadi’s release was likely politically motivated, part of broader efforts to free several former regime figures. He noted that many Gaddafi loyalists remain imprisoned despite court orders for their release.