With Putin, Palestinian leader rules out US role as mediator

By TIA GOLDENBERG
Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Palestinian president has used a meeting with Vladimir Putin to say his leadership has no faith in the U.S. to mediate a solution to the conflict with Israel. Mahmoud Abbas’ remarks effectively ruled out Washington as the main peace broker in the region, a role it has espoused for decades. Abbas spoke Thursday during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The remarks cut down the U.S. and its traditional role as international mediator in front of its Russian adversary at a time when Moscow and the West are at loggerheads over the war in Ukraine.