Lebanon's Jumblatt berates actions of Putin

The head of Lebanon's National Struggle Front, MP Walid Jumblatt in a statement  issuedon Wednesday, commented  that a political observer has the right to wonder why the Russian President Vladimir Putin did not visit al-Aqsa mosque, particularly as religion occupied an important part of his visit. He added that Putin’s visit to Jerusalem and the Al Buraq Wall, (the original Islamic name but which Israel calls the Wailing Wall) was not balanced to include visits to Islamic religious sites as well as those claimed by Israel. Jumblatt said that the Russian president "had forgotten, or acted as if he had forgotten," that the Al Buraq Wall is one of the  important sites of al-Aqsa mosque, and one of the most prominent landmarks in Jerusalem which was an Arab city before the Jewish settlement expansion programme started, which aimed to change its identity and heritage. Jumblatt added that Jerusalem's municipality had approved the construction of 180 settlements south of the city in conjunction with the visit of Putin. Jumblatt, in reference to the building of seven Jewish Talmudic buildings around the mosque, begged the question: “Doesn't  this aggressive action deserve a more balanced and moderate approach by Russia?” Historically,  Moscow has always supported the Palestinian cause and Arab issues in general, excluding, of course, its position on Syria and its support for  the dictatorial regime.