Russia's Bogdanov Says Organization Of Hamas Leader's Visit To Moscow Not On Agenda

The current agenda does not include organizing a visit to Russia for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and no specific dates regarding the matter have been determined yet, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th February, 2019) The current agenda does not include organizing a visit to Russia for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and no specific dates regarding the matter have been determined yet, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Monday.

"Now this issue is not on the agenda, because [at the intra-Palestinian talks] we were just trying to provide them [the parties to the talks] a platform in Moscow to talk to each other and come to a consensus on the fundamental political principles for solving the Palestinian problem. The date of the visit is not determined as of now. It was postponed. In principle, I do not rule out visits of all other Palestinian organizations � not only Hamas, but also Fatah.

We receive such requests and appeals and we hold a dialogue with all Palestinian organizations," Bogdanov told reporters.

It was initially planned that Haniyeh would visit Moscow on January 15 to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and discuss the intra-Palestinian reconciliation. However, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal said on January 10 that the visit had been postponed, adding that the new date for Haniyeh's travel to Russia would be announced later.

On February 11, Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, the deputy chief of the Hamas Political Bureau, told Sputnik that Hahiyeh's visit to Russia would take place in April or May.