Abbas supports Russian airstrikes in Syria

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held a meeting last Thursday with visiting Russian Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko, in which he made a rare move and took sides in Syria war by openly supporting the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Russia is currently helping Assad against foreign-backed terrorists.

Matviyenko after the meeting quoted Abbas in an interview on the Rossiya-24 Russian TV channel as "unambiguously and firmly" supporting Russia's actions in Syria.

Matviyenko also quoted him as saying "the fact that Russia has returned to the Middle East creates a certain balance, and this won't allow any imbalances."

She also said he expressed support for escalating the fight against the pseudo-Muslim ISIS terror group and "other terrorist groups," noting, "we have no disagreement in this sense."