GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Russia has expressed its readiness to host meetings between Fatah and Hamas to overcome the obstacles impeding Palestinian reconciliation.
The divide between the two started following armed clashes between members of the Palestinian security services and Fatah gunmen on the one hand and Hamas gunmen on the other in mid-June 2007. Hamas ended up taking control of the Gaza Strip, with a state of political divide persisting between the two sides. Various efforts by Arab states have thus far failed to achieve reconciliation.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and special presidential representative for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov said in a press statement on Dec. 21 carried by RT news website that Russia was willing to host a meeting of Fatah and Hamas representatives in Moscow to support reconciliation efforts between the two parties.
“We invited [head of the Hamas Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh], and he accepted the invitation with gratitude,” Bogdanov said, adding that the meeting being arranged between Hamas and Fatah would probably be held in early 2019.
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