Two delegations, one from Iran and another from Hamas, have arrived in Moscow. They are meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s team, while the conflict in Gaza raises concerns of further escalation.

“The talks focused on the recent Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the strategies to halt Israeli crimes, which are backed by the U.S. and many Western nations,” Hamas announced on its English-language Telegram channel.

Russian officials have confirmed the visit and stated that the meeting with Hamas focused on the “continuation of the Russian course towards the release of foreign hostages present in the Gaza Strip.”

According to Hamas, the conversation included Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Russia also confirmed that another deputy foreign minister hosted a senior Iranian official, the Washington Examiner reported.

“I can confirm that today, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister [Mikhail] Galuzin met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister [Ali] Bagheri Kani,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

That meeting focused on issues related to their potential to cooperate in the area of ballistic missiles following the expiration of U.N. sanctions on Iran.

“Special attention was paid to the situation around the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, including in light of the expiration of some of its provisions related to the Iranian missile program, international cooperation with Tehran in this field and the asset freeze of certain Iranian individuals and entities,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, per state media.

Written by staff