Lavrov: Hamas represents the majority of the Palestinian people

[ 24/05/2009 - 10:44 AM ]

DAMASCUS, (PIC)--

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, stated, during his meeting on Saturday with Khaled Mashaal, the head of the Hamas political bureau, that Russia finds itself right in its decision to establish a relationship with Hamas because it represents the viewpoint of the majority of the Palestinian people.

In a press release issued by the Hamas information office and a copy of which was received by the PIC, Lavrov stressed his country’s support of the Palestinian national dialog and expressed hope that the Palestinian delegation would be unified during its participation in the Moscow international conference on the Middle East.

Lavrov also promised that Russia would pressure the Israeli government to stop its settlement activities and lift its siege on the Gaza Strip.

For his part, Mashaal welcomed any international efforts to safeguard the Palestinian people’s rights and interests and expressed at the same time his fears that these efforts might become a waste of time in case the main problem was not addressed correctly through pressuring Israel to end its occupation and recognize the Palestinian rights.

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