Hamas political leader arrives in Moscow for talks

Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal arrived in Moscow on Monday for talks aimed at starting cooperation between the international community and the new Palestinian government.

"We value Russia's position and we want to discuss the results of the agreement, recently reached in Mecca, with the Russian leadership," Meshaal was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying upon arrival.

"We lay weight on Russia's position regarding the lifting of the economic blockade on Palestine," he said.

"Our goal is to launch interaction between the international community and the new Palestinian government. The agreement reached in Mecca underscores certain progress and makes our program public," Meshaal added.

The rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas agreed in the Saudi holy city of Mecca earlier this month to form a national unity government to replace the Hamas-led government in a bid to break the siege on the Palestinians.

Russia is a member of the Quartet of international mediators for peace in the Middle East. The other members are the United States, United Nations and European Union.

After a meeting last week in Berlin, the Quartet reiterated it would only "support a Palestinian government committed to nonviolence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Roadmap." Hamas has so far refused to meet these demands.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that, during Meshaal's visit, "Russia plans to continue its efforts to help restore stability on the Palestinian territories and resolve disputes within the Palestinian Authority following the Mecca agreement between Fatah and Hamas."

Source: Xinhua