Russian diplomacy announced talks in Moscow on Thursday with representatives of Hamas, which is at war with Israel, and Iran, a first since the conflict began nearly three weeks ago.
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“I can confirm the presence of representatives of this Palestinian movement in Moscow,” Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, also confirming the visit of Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani to Russia.
Subsequently, a Russian diplomatic source told state news agencies that the meeting with the Hamas delegation led by Moussa Abou Marzouk focused on the hostages held by the Palestinian organization and the evacuation of foreign nationals from Gaza.
‼️ The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that a delegation from #Hamas arrived in Moscow as part of an official visit.
Abou Marzouk, Hamas’ number 2, leads the delegation.
A terrorist state hosts a terrorist organization. pic.twitter.com/k9h4nl7i0r
— Cyrille Amoursky (@AmourskyCyrille) October 26, 2023
According to this source, Moscow insisted to Hamas on “the immediate release of foreign hostages in the Gaza Strip” and was addressing “issues related to the evacuation of Russian citizens and other foreign citizens from the territory of the Palestinian enclave.”
The Iranian deputy minister spoke with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov, with the two men discussing “the unprecedented escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“The need to cease hostilities in and around the Gaza Strip and to quickly provide humanitarian assistance to the affected Palestinian population was reiterated,” he said.
“Moscow and Tehran remain committed to continuing to closely coordinate efforts to stabilize the situation in the Middle East,” Russian diplomacy added.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin said there had been no progress in releasing the Russian hostages kidnapped by Hamas, even admitting that it did not know how many there were.
Russian diplomacy had previously reported that at least 20 Russian-Israeli dual nationals were killed and two were kidnapped in the October 7 Hamas attacks.
Hundreds of Russian nationals also live in the Gaza Strip, which is the target of Israeli bombings.
Unlike the United States, Russia does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization and has long-standing ties with the Palestinian Islamist movement.
While Moscow condemned the October 7 attacks against Israeli civilians, it also insisted on the need for a Palestinian state to end the conflict and warned Israel of the consequences of a blind and murderous response.
About 220 Israelis, foreigners or dual nationals, were kidnapped by Hamas commandos during a bloody offensive on Israeli soil that left more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, dead.
Since then, the Israeli army has retaliated by relentlessly shelling the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Palestinian Islamist movement, killing more than 7,000 people so far, including nearly 3,000 children on Palestinian territory, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.