The Russian ambassador to the Palestinians visited the Gaza Strip yesterday, during which he met with the Hamas Political Bureau Director Ismail Haniya. According to several statements by the Islamist Hamas and a Kremlin source, the Russian ambassador provided Haniya with an invitation from President Vladimir Putin to come to Moscow for an official meeting. That said, no details were given as to when the meeting would take place. It is important to note that in contrast to the United Nations, United States and European Union, Hamas is not defined as a terrorist organization by the Kremlin, which holds periodical meetings with Hamas officials over the situation in the Palestinian enclave, since Hamas won the last democratic election for the Palestinian Authority, in 2006.
Meanwhile, According to Arab media outlets, the intra-Palestinian reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas, which are being held in Cairo under the auspices of senior Egyptian intelligence officials have again reached a dead-end and that the intra-Palestinian reconciliation process is on the brink of collapse.