Russia to press Hamas to 'moderate' stand: envoy
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-03-01 09:13

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia will press the radical Palestinian group Hamas to moderate its positions when the two sides hold talks here later this week, a senior Russian diplomat said.

Russian envoy Alexander Kalugin (L) meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on February 12. Russia will press the radical Palestinian group Hamas to moderate its positions when the two sides hold talks here later this week, a senior Russian diplomat said.[AFP]

"Everyone is telling Hamas that they must take a more moderate path," Alexander Kalugin, Russia's special envoy for the Middle East, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency on Tuesday.

"We will call for this kind of change during our meeting."

A Hamas delegation led by the movement's top leader, Khaled Meshaal, was due in Moscow for talks Friday and Saturday with Russian officials.

Russia is part of the international "quartet" -- which also includes the United States, the European Union and the United Nations -- trying to broker peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin caught the other members by surprise when he invited Hamas leaders to Moscow for talks after the radical group -- classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union -- won Palestinian elections earlier this month.

"We will encourage an advance of positions in line with the quartet," Kalugin said.

"We will ask that they adhere to previous agreements and that they renounce terrorism. And obviously progress must be made toward recognition of Israel's right to exist," he added.