Russian President Vladamir Putin and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speak, via video link, at the opening ceremony of a $40 million Putin Cultural and Economic Center in Bethlehem.
The two leaders were both in Sochi, where they were meeting to discuss the Israeli Palestinian peace process and bilateral ties.
Ziyad al-Bandak, the board of directors for the Palestinian Putin Foundation for Culture and Trade, told the official PA news site Wafa that the center is 15,000 square meters and has six floors.
He pointed out that the Sports and Youth Department consists of two judo, karate and Roman wrestling rooms, and a cafeteria. The third section is a music complex and contains a training and teaching hall with a management department.
— Dov Lieber
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