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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Russia spurns Israeli rebuke over Hamas meet |
| 2010-05-15 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Russia on Thursday defended its contacts with Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas after President Dmitry Medvedev met the group's leader, saying the organization must play a role in peace efforts. Calling Hamas "a terror organization in every way," Israel's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it was "deeply disappointed" that Medvedev met the group's exiled leader Khaled Meshaal during a visit to Syria this week. Russia, the United States, European Union and the United Nations, make up a quartet of Middle East mediators. The U.S., EU and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist group. Russia insists that Hamas should not be isolated. "Hamas is not an artificial structure," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said in a statement. "It is a movement that draws on the trust and sympathy of a large number of Palestinians." I guess the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria's not an artificial structure, either, huh? Senior Hamas leader Salah al-Bardawil earlier hailed the step and said "the invitation by Russia and Turkey to include the movement in the political process reflects the true political weight of the movement." |
| Posted by:Fred |