On Saturday, Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported that next week Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov hopes to meet representatives of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Qatar for talks to free Israeli hostages.
Russia has so far carefully condemned violence from both sides in the battle between Israel and Hamas while renewing an offer to be a potential negotiator.
Bogdanov told RIA Novosti he “did not exclude” meeting Hamas representatives on the trip.
“If they are willing, we always are in favour of contact. Especially in this situation (the meeting) would be useful for solving practical issues, including the freeing of hostages,” he said.
Last week, hundreds of Hamas gunmen smashed through the militarized border around the Gaza Strip into Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and carrying around 150 Israeli, foreign, and dual-national hostages.
Moscow tends to retain close ties with both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
The announcement of Bogdanov’s measures came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia could help find a way to end the crisis.
Putin said on a visit to Kyrgyzstan Friday, “Russia can (help), by virtue of the fact that we have had good relations with Israel over the last 15 years.”
