Back to Gabrielle Goldwater's Reports
MOSCOW, April 11, 2006 (WAFA - PLO news agency) - Russian Foreign
Minister,
Sergei Lavrov, pledged to continue sending financial aid to the
Palestinian
National Autority (PNA) even though its government is now led
Hamas.
Lavrov remarks came following a meeting with his Jordanian
counterpart
Adbedelah al-Khatib Tuesday in Moscow.
"We should look
for options to provide aid for the Palestinians in a
transparent, checkable
way, and such options can be found without
exacerbating the situation in
Palestine," Lavrov said. "Russia plans to
provide such aid and in such a
form".
The minister said it would be wrong to halt aid to the Palestinian
National
Authority because of Hamas' dominance of its new government. The
international community should work with Hamas following its landslide
victory in Palestinian parliamentary polls, not boycott it.
"Hamas
must recognize Israel and sit down at the negotiating table in
keeping with
the Quartet's terms," he said.
Lavrov said it was extremely important to
ensure compliance with all
previously signed agreements in the post-election
period, and that utmost
care should be taken not to jeopardize the Middle
East peace process, which
is paving the way for an agreement to create a
sovereign Palestinian state.
H.M (20:11 P) (17:11 GMT)