Putin to Invite Hamas Leaders to Visit Moscow
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MADRID — Russian President Vladimir V. Putin said Thursday that he would invite leaders of the militant group Hamas, who last month won a majority in the Palestinian parliament, to Moscow.
Speaking through a Spanish interpreter, Putin said: “We haven’t considered Hamas a terrorist organization. Today we must recognize that Hamas has reached power in Palestine as a result of legitimate elections, and we must respect the choice of the Palestinian people.”
Hamas spokesman Ismail Haniya said in the Gaza Strip that group leaders “would be delighted” to visit Russia if Putin extended a formal invitation.
In New York, Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Andrey Denisov, said at a news conference that a key item on any agenda for talks with Hamas would be “prevention and the stopping of all terror activities” as well as the group regarding Israel as an independent state, neighbor and partner.
Hamas’ founding charter calls for Israel’s destruction, a position the group has not renounced. Washington considers Hamas a terrorist organization.
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