Russia not ready to designate Hamas as terrorist organization

When asked about the prospect of Russia designating Hamas as a terrorist organization, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian authorities are still analyzing the situation.

“We’re staying in contact with both sides of the conflict,” Peskov said. “There are Russian citizens in both places. For us, the fate of Russian nationals is the number one priority. Apart from that, of course, Russia is continuing to analyze the situation, while maintaining its position as a country that could potentially take part in the regulation process,” he added.

The day before Peskov’s remarks, France and the European Union both designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the Hamas insurgents’ attack on Israel as a “vivid example” of the failure of U.S. foreign policy in the Near East, blaming Washington for trying to “monopolize regulation” in the region without making an effort to find compromise solutions.

According to BBC News Russian, Hamas representatives pay regular visits to Moscow. The last time this happened was in March 2023, when Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met with a Hamas delegation.