Hamas claims Russia opposes US peace plan

Russia has not been updated on the US peace initiative and will oppose it, Hamas claims. 

By: World Israel News Staff

A senior Hamas delegation, headed by members of the terror organization’s political bureau, met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Moscow on Monday and presented their case to the Russian government.

Bogdanov is Russia’s envoy to the Middle East.

According to a statement released by Hamas, the delegation discussed the “bilateral relations between Hamas and Russia, voiced their opinions on various regional issues and briefed each other about the Palestinian situation.”

The two sides also discussed “the latest developments concerning the internal Palestinian situation” while Hamas reiterated its “constant position on the necessity to achieve the Palestinian national unity.”

For close to a year, the Hamas and the Fatah factions have been attempting to achieve reconciliation, so far to no avail.

Bogdanov said that Russia was considering inviting the Palestinian parties for negotiations in Moscow “in order to achieve the national unity and reconciliation to unify the Palestinian representation in the face of the challenges facing the Palestinian cause,” Hamas stated.

Hamas and Fatah have met several times in Cairo.

Hamas’ delegation also discussed the new US peace plan with the Russian official, who confirmed that the US has yet to discuss its plan with Moscow.

According to a report by Israel’s Haaretz, senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk said that Russia will oppose the plan.

“We agreed with the Russians that we won’t allow the promotion of the deal of the century,” he said.

“Our position is that the United States, in particular the current administration, cannot behave like the exclusive player in the region, essentially implementing Israel’s policy,” a Hamas member told Haaretz.

Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump Jared Kushner and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt toured the region last week and met with Israel and Arab leaders in an effort to advance a comprehensive diplomatic solution.

After visits to Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, Greenblatt and Kushner provided details of the US-sponsored peace plan to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with an eye to jump-starting negotiations with the PA, which has maintained a boycott of the Trump administration since its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the subsequent US embassy move.

Hamas said that Bogdanov further stressed Russia’s position “in support of the Palestinian people’s rights and its willingness to consider aiding Gaza to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the coastal enclave.”

“The participants focused on the problems of a Palestinian-Israeli settlement in accordance with the well-known international legal framework, including UN resolutions, and the soonest possible restoration of national Palestinian unity based on the agreement signed in October 2017 in Cairo between the Hamas and Fatah movements,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.

Hamas is listed as a terror group by Israel and the US.