WASHINGTON, March 7 (RIA Novosti, Alexei Berezin) - Radical Palestinian group Hamas is willing to support the "road map" for the Middle East peace process, the Russian foreign minister said Tuesday.
"We wanted to talk with Hamas so that they listened to the voice of peace," Sergei Lavrov told a news conference after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "The talks will continue, but we have already heard that Hamas is ready to support the 'road map'."
A delegation from Hamas, which won parliamentary elections in the Palestinian National Authority in January, held talks with Russian Foreign Ministry officials, including Lavrov, in Moscow last week. The delegates arrived in Russia on the invitation of President Vladimir Putin, who was criticized in some quarters for making the move. At least one politician in Israel, which has suffered casualties in suicide bombings that Hamas has claimed responsibility for, described the step as "a stab in the back".
Lavrov said that Russia, which along with the U.S., UN and EU is a mediator in the Middle East peace process, would provide humanitarian aid to Palestine. The minister said that the Hamas leadership had given assurances during the talks that it would be solely spent on social programs. An international monitoring body will be set up to ensure the transparency of funds allocation.
