The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that representatives of Iran and Hamas were in Moscow on Thursday to hold discussions, for the first time since the outbreak of war between Israel and the Palestinian movement about three weeks ago.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that “there are representatives of this Palestinian movement in Moscow,” and that Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri is also in the Russian capital.
Zakharova did not provide details about the agenda or content of the discussions.
However, a Russian diplomatic source later confirmed to local news agencies that the meeting with the Hamas delegation focused on the hostages the movement took, including foreigners, during its unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7.
He pointed out that Moscow stressed to the movement’s delegation the necessity of “the immediate release of foreign hostages in the Gaza Strip,” and touched on “issues related to the evacuation of Russian and other foreign nationals from the Palestinian Strip.”
For his part, Iranian Deputy Minister Ali Bagheri discussed with his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Bogdanov, “the unprecedented escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The ministry added that during this meeting, “the need to stop hostilities in the Gaza Strip and its surroundings and to quickly provide humanitarian aid to the affected Palestinian population was reaffirmed.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed in its statement that “Moscow and Tehran remain determined to continue close coordination of efforts aimed at stabilizing the situation in the Middle East,” according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
Communications Coordinator for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said during a press conference on Thursday, in response to a question about the Hamas delegation’s visit to Moscow, that “this is not the time to support them as they continue to kill Israelis.”
Kirby added: “Any country that wants to get involved in the conflict must make efforts to help Israel defend itself and provide humanitarian support and aid.”
The Kremlin acknowledged on Tuesday that no progress had been achieved so far towards the release of the Russians who were kidnapped by Hamas.
Hamas fighters kidnapped more than 220 people, Israelis, foreigners or dual nationals, during an attack that left more than 1,400 dead, most of them civilians, according to the Israeli authorities.
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2023-10-26 22:41:18
