DOHA, Qatar, Aug. 3 (UPI) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Khaled Meshaal, the Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, Monday in Doha, Qatar.
The two men discussed the inter-Palestinian reconciliation issue, and the overall situation in the Middle East.
The Russian foreign minister also invited Meshaal to Moscow but a date has not been set. Russia reiterated that diplomatic talks between Israel and the Palestinians must include Hamas.
“We would like to see the Palestinians — all of them — to have their permanent home,” Lavrov said, as reported by Ynet News.
“We hope that with assistance from and the whole world this dream will come true,” Mashal — who last traveled to Moscow in 2010 — responded to Russia’s top diplomat.
Russia is a part of the Quartet of the Middle East, along with with the United States, European Union and the United Nations. The group has been involved in mediating the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, but talks have been suspended for over a year.
Hamas refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, ignoring peace arrangements made between the Palestinian Authority and Israel since 1993. Russia, nonetheless, maintains that the the group should not be isolated. Russia also has a solid relationship with Hamas’ political rival, the Palestinian Authority, and its leader Mahmoud Abbas. In May, 2014, Abbas met with Meshaal also in Doha following a unity deal between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
The largest of several Palestinian militant Islamist groups, Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the US, Canada and Japan due to its long record of attacks.
Lavrov, on Monday, was also set to meet with his U.S. counterpart Secretary of State John Kerry, to discuss the volatile situation in Syria, The Times of Israel reported.
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