“Israel is isolated though its radical position”

Moscow should maintain contact with Hamas, especially now that the group has adopted a more realistic approach to the peace process in the Middle East.

That's according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking after negotiations with the group's leader Khaled Meshaal. The meeting came during the latest stage of Lavrov's Middle East tour.

“Everybody is asking Israel to give in on key issues. First of all – to accept the two-state solution and to stop the settlements. These are two major items on the table of negotiations. There is no deal that could pass, especially one that tried to find a solution for the nuclear issue in Iran, which is an existential threat to Israel. For the first time Hamas agreed, and even Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad agreed on this two-state solution,” said Professor Sami Nader from St. Joseph University in Beirut.