Russia and Turkey have called for the inclusion of the democratically elected Palestinian government of Hamas in Middle East peace talks.
“Unfortunately Palestinians have been split into two… In order to reunite them, you have to speak to both sides. Hamas won elections in Gaza and cannot be ignored,” Turkish President Abdullah Gul said during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Ankara on Wednesday.
“Undoubtedly, all parties to this problem should be included more actively (in the process) in order to reach a solution. The process should not exclude anyone,” he added.
Medvedev agreed with the idea that no group should be excluded from the peace process.
The Russian president urged the United States to work actively with other nations in the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.
He also stated that a divided Palestinian administration could not help resolve the conflict.
Medvedev said the division “causes the Palestinians to regress.” He also warned that Gaza was “facing a human tragedy.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Medvedev was in Syria, where he met with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Medvedev’s meeting with Meshaal and his later comments in Turkey received an angry response from the Israeli foreign ministry.
“The foreign ministry vehemently rejects the call from the presidents of Russia and Turkey to include Hamas in the peace process and expresses deep disappointment over the meeting between the president of Russia and Khaled Meshaal in Damascus,” it said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
However, that was not the only thing about Medvedev’s visits that upset Tel Aviv. In a phone conversation before Medvedev left for Syria, Israeli President Shimon Peres had asked him to convey a message to Assad.
But according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Medvedev did not agree because it contradicted Moscow’s stance.
“We did not have a special need to implement this message because this is our position — to live in peace and solve issues on the basis of the international legal framework adopted by everyone and which should now be implemented by everyone,” Lavrov told AFP.
Press TV
Leave a Reply