Russian senior diplomat holds talks with Palestinian politicians

MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Russian Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov held talks on the Middle East settlement with Secretary General of the Palestinian Democratic Union Zahira Kamal and her deputy Saleh Ra’fat, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), focusing, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The participants "confirmed the need to overcome intra-Palestinian disagreements on the PLO platform and the Arab peace initiative as soon as possible in order to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict basing on the United Nations resolutions and the Arab peace initiative," the ministry said. Kamal and Ra’fat attended a Palestinian meeting in Moscow. Earlier on Wednesday, Bogdanov held meetings with Moussa Abu Marzouk, a deputy head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Talal Naji, assistant secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Maher Taher, member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative. A meeting bringing together delegations from Fatah, Hamas and other Palestinian movements took place in Moscow on February 11-13. The sides failed to agree on a final declaration as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement refused to put their signatures under the document. Read more