Russia favors keeping up talks with Hamas:Lavrov in Damascus to take part in meeting hosted by Organization of Islamic Conferen
See all:Russia believes in the need to maintain contacts with the ‘Palestinian’ group Hamas, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday,despite a cooling of ties between the two sides.”We are certain that this is needed,” Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying after meeting Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in the Syrian capital, where he lives in exile. Diplomats in Damascus said new Middle East peace moves by US President Barack Obama may have helped spur the meeting between Lavrov and Mashaal after tension between Hamas and Russia over the last few months.Lavrov was on a brief visit to Syria to attend a foreign ministers meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and meet Syrian officials. Russia has been seeking a greater role in Middle East diplomacy, and foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said on Thursday Moscow was “striving to strengthen and develop political dialogue and mutual cooperation with Syria.”Russia is the only member of what is known as the Quartet of Middle East[