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Putin does not consider Hamas as terrorist organisation
| quote: | Putin's Hamas overture provokes storm of outrage from Israel
By Anne Penketh and Eric Silver in Jerusalem
Published:_11 February 2006
President Vladimir Putin's attempt to place Russia at the heart of the Middle East peace process by inviting Hamas leaders to Moscow for talks has provoked surprise in Europe and alarm in Israel.
Mr Putin broke ranks on Thursday with the other members of the international quartet - the US, EU and UN - by announcing the invitation to Hamas, officially designated as a terrorist organisation by the Americans. Mr Putin said that Russia had never considered Hamas to be terrorists. The Russian Defence Minister, Sergei Ivanov, predicted that "sometime in the future, many leading states will start maintaining some contacts with Hamas". Although Russia is a member of the quartet, which, last week in London, carefully co-ordinated its response to the shock Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections, the Kremlin has been marginalised in the Middle East peace process for more than a decade.
The quartet warned the suicide bombers of Hamas last week that all members of a future Palestinian government must be committed to "non-violence" and the recognition of Israel.
Diplomats said that the British Government had not been forewarned of the Russian overture to Hamas, although they stressed that it was too early to say whether the move marked a major shift in policy. France did not object, so long as agreed "objectives and principles" were observed.
But the reaction in Israel was sharp: "It's not just a slap in the face to Israel. It's a slap in the face to Western countries," said one Israeli official. |
FULL ARTICLE
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Anti-Purple Alliance.
They totally should ... lol... I mean I know they won't but still... I remember when Putin got mad over ABC doing an interview with a Chechen rebel leader... we're not talking high-level political talks but a freaking TV interview!!! Naw, no double-standard there... 
