Khaled Mesha'al Tells Sultanov Hamas Won't Oppose Peace Efforts

Published today (updated) 19/07/2009 12:01 Hamas leader in exile Khaled Masha'al [Ma'anImages] Bethlehem – Ma’an –

Hamas will not stand in the way of peace in the Middle East, said its leader in exile Khaled Mesha'al during a meeting on Saturday night with the Russian president’s special Middle East envoy.

Alexander Saltanov, who also serves as deputy Russian foreign minister, was visiting Syria where he met with the exiled Hamas leader in Damascus over the weekend.

According to Muhammad Nasr, a member of Hamas' politburo, the meeting was successful and comprehensive, and it addressed Palestinian conciliation, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and other major issues.

"Hamas' delegation was updated on the Russian vision of [a proposed] Moscow peace conference," Nasr said. He highlighted that Sultanov expressed his hopes that the conference would achieve peace in the region.

Russian officials who attended the meeting said Saltanov had called on Hamas to show flexibility and change its standpoint on recognizing Israel and renouncing violence, and that the demand led Mesha'al to assert that Hamas would not oppose the increasing international interest in achieving peace in the Middle East.

Mesha'al discusses with Saltanov latest Palestinian developments

[ 19/07/2009 - 08:18 AM ]

DAMASCUS, (PIC)--

Khaled Mesha'al, the political bureau chairman of the Hamas Movement, on Saturday discussed with Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Saltanov latest political developments in the Palestinian arena.

A Hamas statement said that Saltanov met with a delegation of the Hamas Movement led by Mesha'al during a visit to Syria within a tour of the region.

Describing the Mesha'al-Saltanov meeting as "positive", the statement said that the discussions tackled the inter-Palestinian reconciliation and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Moscow had turned down calls for boycotting Hamas especially after its control of the Gaza Strip.

Russian foreign affairs ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko on 30/5/2009 said that Hamas should not be isolated or boycotted.

He added that solving inter-Palestinian differences is possible through dialog and not isolation or boycott.

Mesha'al had recently met in Damascus with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov for an exchange of views on various Palestinian issues.

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