In late January and early February, a number of Palestinian leaders from different factions headed to Moscow to meet with officials from the Russian Foreign Ministry to discuss the upcoming Palestinian elections and internal reconciliation, in addition to bilateral relations. Yet despite the frequency of visits, results are still lacking.
On Feb. 4, a Hamas delegation led by the head of the movement’s international relations office, Mousa Abu Marzouk, visited Moscow and met with Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian deputy foreign minister and special presidential envoy for the Middle East and Africa, and with Alexei Skoyerev, the deputy head of the Middle East Department in the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Hamas issued a statement the same day saying the discussions focused on restoring Palestinian unity and the preparations for the Palestinian elections, noting that the delegation is keeping the Russians in the loop of Palestinian developments and ensuring that Palestinian-Russian coordination remains ongoing.
On Feb. 2, Bogdanov met in Moscow with a delegation from the Islamic Jihad, led by Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhala, to discuss Palestinian political developments and the upcoming elections. The Islamic Jihad issued a statement Feb. 5 stressing the importance of the Russian role in the international and regional arenas and the need to stop hegemonic US policies.
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