The leaders of Russia and Turkey said on Wednesday that the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas should not be excluded from peace efforts in the Middle East, sparking Israel’s ire.
“Unfortunately Palestinians have been split into two ... In order to reunite them, you have to speak to both sides. Hamas won elections in Gaza and cannot be ignored,” Turkish President Abdullah Gul said at a joint press conference with visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The Russian president, who met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Damascus on Tuesday, said that no group should be excluded from peace efforts, without naming the group.
“Undoubtedly, all parties to this problem should be included more actively [in the process] in order to reach a solution. The process should not exclude anyone,” he said through an interpreter.
A divided Palestinian administration cannot help resolve the conflict, he said, adding that the division “causes the Palestinians to regress.”
Their remarks and Medvedev’s meeting with Meshaal unleashed an angry response from Israel, which said that it expected Russia to stand by the Jewish state against “Hamas terror.”
“There is no difference between Hamas actions against Israel and Chechen terror against Russia,” an Israeli foreign ministry statement said. “The foreign ministry vehemently rejects the call from the presidents of Russia and Turkey to include Hamas in the peace process and expresses deep disappointment over the meeting between the president of Russia and Khaled Meshaal in Damascus.”
“Hamas is a terrorist organization in every aspect, with the outspoken goal of destroying the state of Israel,” it said in a statement. “Israel has always stood by Russia in its fight against Chechen terror and that is what we expect with regard to Hamas terror against Israel.”
Before his talks in Damascus, Medvedev had held a telephone call with Israeli President Shimon Peres during which he was asked to convey a message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Peres’s office said.
Peres said “Israel has no interest in a war with Syria or in heating up the northern border and that Israel is seeking a genuine peace with its Syrian neighbor.”
Nauru has started selling passports to fund climate action, but is so far struggling to attract new citizens to the low-lying, largely barren island in the Pacific Ocean. Nauru, one of the world’s smallest nations, has a novel plan to fund its fight against climate change by selling so-called “Golden Passports.” Selling for US$105,000 each, Nauru plans to drum up more than US$5 million in the first year of the “climate resilience citizenship” program. Almost six months after the scheme opened in February, Nauru has so far approved just six applications — covering two families and four individuals. Despite the slow start —
MOGAMI-CLASS FRIGATES: The deal is a ‘big step toward elevating national security cooperation with Australia, which is our special strategic partner,’ a Japanese official said Australia is to upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said yesterday. Billed as Japan’s biggest defense export deal since World War II, Australia is to pay US$6 billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates. Australia is in the midst of a major military restructure, bolstering its navy with long-range firepower in an effort to deter China. It is striving to expand its fleet of major warships from 11 to 26 over the next decade. “This is clearly the biggest defense-industry agreement that has ever
DEADLY TASTE TEST: Erin Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband three times, police said in one of the major claims not heard during her initial trial Australia’s recently convicted mushroom murderer also tried to poison her husband with bolognese pasta and chicken korma curry, according to testimony aired yesterday after a suppression order lapsed. Home cook Erin Patterson was found guilty last month of murdering her husband’s parents and elderly aunt in 2023, lacing their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. A series of potentially damning allegations about Patterson’s behavior in the lead-up to the meal were withheld from the jury to give the mother-of-two a fair trial. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale yesterday rejected an application to keep these allegations secret. Patterson tried to kill her
MILITARY’S MAN: Myint Swe was diagnosed with neurological disorders and peripheral neuropathy disease, and had authorized another to perform his duties Myint Swe, who became Myanmar’s acting president under controversial circumstances after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than four years ago, died yesterday, the military said. He was 74. He died at a military hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw, in the morning, Myanmar’s military information office said in a statement. Myint Swe’s death came more than a year after he stopped carrying out his presidential duties after he was publicly reported to be ailing. His funeral is to be held at the state level, but the date had not been disclosed, a separate statement from the
RSS