Palestinian Ambassador Abdel Hafiz Nofal stated that the leadership of Palestine supports Russia in the issue of the legitimacy of the referendum held in 2014 in the Crimea. The ambassador said in an interview with the Russian edition of "Izvestia".

He argued that the right of peoples to self-determination is an inalienable for all, without exception.

"We understand perfectly what happened in the Crimea, and we reaffirm our position to support Russia's actions on this issue. We stand for our right to self-determination and believe that any other people have this right, "said the Palestinian diplomat, quoted espreso. tv He also added that official recognition can follow as a result of the discussion of pressing issues on a bilateral basis. The ambassador noted that the Crimean peninsula repeatedly visited Palestinian delegations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Ambassador of Palestine to Ukraine Mohammed Al-Assad in connection with the statement of the Ambassador of Palestine in Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal about the possible recognition of the legitimate annexation of the Russian Federation of Crimea.

"On September 19, 2018, the Ambassador of Palestine to Ukraine Mohammed Al-Assad was summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. The reason for such a step was the comments circulated on September 19 in the media regarding the statements of the Ambassador of Palestine to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal concerning the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine, "the Foreign Ministry said in a statement quoted by the Left Bank.

It is noted that during the conversation the Director of the Middle East and Africa Department of the Foreign Ministry Miroslava Shcherbatyuk appealed to the Palestinian side for explanations.

Ambassador of Palestine confirmed the position of the Palestinian side on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea.

"As of 18:30, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told the media that he did not make any statements about the Crimea and denied the information disseminated on Wednesday in the media," the Foreign Ministry said..

The full text of the interview of the Ambassador of Palestine to Russian Izvestia:.

The Palestinian leadership supports Russia in the issue of the legitimacy of the referendum held in early 2014 on the Crimean peninsula. This was reported to Izvestia by the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Russia, Abdel Hafiz-Nofal. He stressed that the right of peoples to self-determination is inalienable for all, without exception. In turn, the mutual understanding of Russia and Palestine on the status of the peninsula "Izvestia" was reported by the permanent representative of the Republic of Crimea under the President George Muradov.

Answering Izvestiya's question about the attitude of the Palestinian authorities towards the status of Crimea and the results of the referendum held there, Abdel Hafiz Nophal stated that the inhabitants of the peninsula had every right to express their will in this way.

- Our position on this topic is quite clear.

We perfectly understand what happened in the Crimea, and we reaffirm our position to support Russia's actions on this issue. We stand for our right to self-determination and believe that any other people have that right, "said the Palestinian ambassador.

The diplomat added that official recognition can be followed by a discussion of pressing issues on a bilateral basis, noting that the Crimean peninsula has repeatedly visited Palestinian delegations. And the Crimeans and Palestinians have clear intentions to continue these contacts, he stressed..