The Palestinian groups invited to the Moscow meeting include representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Russia’s special presidential envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told TASS on Friday.
“We invited all Palestinian representatives – all political forces that are present in different countries of the region, including Syria and Lebanon,” Bogdanov said. “The composition is about the same as it was at the previous two intra-Palestinian meetings: 12 to 14 organizations.”
“Most of them are affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization, but there are also some organizations that have not yet joined it – Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” he said. “We have invited them as well.”
Moscow’s goal, he explained, is to help various Palestinian forces agree to unite politically.
“We proceed from the fact that the Palestine Liberation Organization has been and remains the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. It enjoys the international community’s and our recognition,” Bogdanov added.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the 13th Middle East Conference of the Valdai Club, said that Russia was planning to hold another intra-Palestinian meeting in the foreseeable future with the aim of settling the conflict in the Middle East with the support of Arab states.
MNA
