Hamas delegation, whose militants attacked Israel on October 7, is on a visit to Moscow.
Sources of the Russian federal publication RIA Novosti informed about the visit.
Israel criticized Moscow, calling the Hamas invitation an “obscene step.”
The visit was unannounced and unexpected. The RIA Novosti source was the first to report the arrival of the Hamas delegation. The information was soon confirmed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who limited herself to saying: “Representatives of the Palestinian movement are on a visit to Moscow.”
On the evening of October 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented its explanation of what Hamas was doing in Moscow.
According to the official wording, “contacts were held in continuation of the Russian line on the immediate release of foreign hostages” held captive in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas delegation was headed by Abu Marzouk, and negotiations with him were conducted by the Deputy Foreign Minister and Russian President’s Special Representative for the Middle East Mikhail Bogdanov.
Moreover, the Russian Foreign Ministry did not mention Bogdanov’s name, it was Hamas that named him in its press release, publishing a photo from the meeting.
As interpreted by Hamas, Abu Marzouk discussed “aggression against Gaza” in Moscow, insisting on the right to “resist the Zionist occupation by all available means.”
In turn, Israel criticized Moscow for hosting a Hamas delegation a day after Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Hamas for the October 7 attack.
“Israel condemns the invitation of senior Hamas officials to Moscow, which is an act of support of terrorism, and legitimizes the atrocities of Hamas terrorists,” wrote the representative of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Lior Haiat.
Unlike other countries, including Britain, Russia does not recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization. The Taliban has the status of a terrorist and banned organization, but this did not prevent the Taliban from frequent visits to Moscow. The last visit of Hamas took place in March 2023, when the same Deputy Minister Bogdanov met with the delegation.