Russia wants to mediate
Hamas representatives are visiting Moscow
October 26, 2023, 5:10 p.m
Russia, which is itself at war, sees itself as a mediator in the Israel war. In Qatar, Russia’s deputy foreign minister says he is holding talks with Hamas about the terrorist hostages. At the same time, a delegation from the terrorist organization is in Moscow.
According to its own statements, the Russian leadership has negotiated with Hamas representatives in Qatar about the fate of the hostages held captive by the Islamist Palestinian organization. “Of course we (met) with the political leadership,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, according to Russian news agencies. He did not share the results of the conversation. The Russian Foreign Ministry later announced that a Hamas delegation was visiting Moscow. Details have not yet been made public.
According to Israel, Hamas is holding more than 220 people in the Gaza Strip who were abducted in the attack on Israel on October 7th. According to information from Moscow, at least two of them have Russian citizenship. There are also German citizens among the hostages.
Russia has relations with the Arab world, but also a large number of compatriots who live in Israel. Against this background, Moscow has offered itself as a mediator on several occasions since the Gaza war broke out. At the same time, President Vladimir Putin has blamed the United States for the flare-up of violence in the Middle East and claimed that US Middle East policy has not addressed the needs of the Palestinians. Russia itself is accused of taking advantage of the escalation in Israel to distract from its war of aggression against Ukraine.
In the UN Security Council, Russia and China recently rejected a draft US resolution that emphasized Israel’s right to self-defense and called for a humanitarian ceasefire. At the same time, a Russian proposal that, among other things, called for a ceasefire also fell through.