Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (right) and Khaled MashaalHamas received a warm welcome as a delegation headed by Damascus-based politburo chief Khaled Meshaal which arrived in Moscow today.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov made a cursory request of the six-man Hamas delegation to recognize Israel and to abide by the Palestinian Authority's agreements with Israel.
But Lavrov made no comment on Mohammed Nazzal’s declaration on arrival: “We will not recognize Israel. The issue of recognition is a done issue.”
Seems pretty plain to me....
The Palestinians, however,emerged out of the meeting with Lavrov with an offer of Russian friendship and Security Council backing.
Lavrov made no real demands of Hams, but said "..our Palestinian friends can count on the support of Russia both in a bilateral sense and from Russia as a member of the Quartet of international mediators and as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.”
The erosion of the Middle East Quartet’s demands of Hamas - to recognize Israel renounce terror, disarm and make good on international accords - is advancing rapidly. Moscow as a member of the Quartet has led the way for international acceptance of the new terrorist government.
So much for Russia's objectivity as a memeber of the so-called Quartet!
The EU apparently is not far behind.
An surprise arrival in Moscow today was European Parliament Secretary Terry Davis. He explained at a news conference that he was there to “represent Europe” for the Hamas visit.
Davis also announced he was not ruling out Hamas being invited to European Council headquarters in Strasbourg.
The Olmert government continues to falter diplomatically as Israel becomes more and more isolated.
Seems pretty plain to me....
ReplyDeleteAnd to me as well