MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama welcomed on Friday the decision of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to attend the funeral for Israeli ex-President Shimon Peres as a gesture of peace.
In a eulogy, Obama said that the presence of Abbas, who defied warnings from the Palestinian movement Hamas not to go, was "a gesture and a reminder of the unfinished business of peace."
A large number of foreign dignitaries have gathered in Jerusalem today to pay their respects to Peres, who died Wednesday at the age of 93 after suffering a stroke two weeks ago.
Mahmoud Abbas and Shimon Peres are recognized for playing a crucial role in the signing of Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty agreements called the Oslo Accords, in 1993.
