Abstract:
"Shortly after the January 2006 Palestinian legislative elections won by Hamas, Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised much of the international community by inviting its leadership to Moscow. What was especially surprising about this move was that Hamas had not agreed to recognize Israel, renounce violence, or adhere to previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements -- the conditions that the ""Quartet"" (the U.S., EU, UN, and Russia itself) had set for treating Hamas as a legitimate partner in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Moscow, though, seemed to hope that its willingness to talk with it would result in Hamas accepting the Quartet's conditions. A Hamas delegation did indeed visit Moscow in March 2006. However, the Putin administration's hopes were disappointed. Hamas did not accept the Quartet's conditions then. Nor has it as of yet."
