President of Russia 

Arafat dedicated his entire life to the just cause of the Palestinian people.

In a message of condolence to Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Mahmoud Abbas, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the death of Yasser Arafat “. . . a grievous loss for the Palestinian leadership, for all Palestinians.” Arafat “dedicated his entire life to the just cause of the Palestinian people, to the struggle for the exercise of their inalienable right to establish an independent state coexisting with Israel in peace within safe and recognized borders.”