Russia talks sense (while Israel simply continues to expand settlements in the West Bank):
Russia’s foreign minister has… said talks with the Palestinian group Hamas were “needed” to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East.
“We are certain that this is needed,” the Russia interfax news agency quoted Sergei Lavrov as saying on Sunday after meeting Khaled Meshaal, the Hamas leader, in the Syrian capital, Damascus, where he lives in exile.
“It was the first very important step on the way to overcoming the present stagnation in the negotiations process,” Lavrov said about the meeting.
“The two main aims are to stop Israel’s current policy on the settlements and from the Palestinian side to rebuild and reunite the peoples [Hamas and Fatah].”