Hamas leader Musa Abu Marzouk (second from left) headed the delegation that met with Russian official Mikhail Bogdanov (social networking sites)
A delegation from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) held discussions in Moscow during the second visit of its kind since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza, and the Russian Foreign Ministry said that it urged the movement to release its detainees.
The ministry stated in a statement that Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov received today, Friday, a Hamas delegation headed by Musa Abu Marzouk, head of the movement’s International Relations Office, and “the focus was on the ongoing confrontation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone in the midst of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which has reached catastrophic proportions.” .
She added, "The Russian side stressed the need to quickly release civilians who were detained by Palestinian factions during the attacks of October 7, 2023, including 3 Russian citizens."
For its part, Hamas said in a statement that its delegation held political consultations with the Russian Foreign Ministry "to discuss ways to cease fire in order to achieve an end to the aggression against our Palestinian people, and to clarify the position and policies of the movement to deal with the file of prisoners held by the resistance."
The delegation pointed out that "the crimes of the Zionist occupation and its behavior against our people and the peoples of the region constitute a serious threat to international peace and security."
Hamas says that the Israeli prisoners it is currently holding in Gaza are either soldiers and officers on duty or in the reserve, or who have previously served in the occupation army, stressing that it will not negotiate to exchange them for Palestinian prisoners until after the Israeli war on Gaza stops.
Moscow received the Hamas delegation on October 26, weeks after the Palestinian resistance launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the ensuing Israeli war on Gaza that left tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded and caused an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
At that time, Israel summoned its Russian ambassador to inform him of its protest against receiving the Hamas delegation, but the Kremlin defended its position by emphasizing the need to maintain contact with various parties.
During the truce and prisoner exchange agreement, which lasted for a week until the end of last November, Hamas announced that it had released a detainee with Russian citizenship “in response to the efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin and in appreciation of the Russian position in support of the Palestinian cause.”
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies