MOSCOW. May 28 (Interfax-AVN) - Israel will not take part in the Moscow Middle East Conference in case Hamas or Hezbollah delegates are invited, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Anna Azari told Interfax on Thursday.
She was asked about Israel's possible attitude to Hamas members in the Palestinian delegation. The ambassador cited the Israeli foreign minister, who had said that Israel would not be at the conference together with Hamas or Hezbollah.
Israel feels negative about the recent meeting of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Damascus.
On one hand, Israel has good relations with Russia, but, on the other hand, it has always felt negative about negotiations with Hamas, including the latest meeting, Azari said.
Everyone knows the international mediating quartet's demands to Hamas: it must stop terrorist activity and recognize the state of Israel and earlier decisions. Neither Israel nor anyone else have seen Hamas doing that, Azari said.
The Moscow conference will be discussed during the Russian visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on June 2-3, she said.
In the opinion of Azari, the sides will discuss the conference in details during the visit.
Israel has a very positive attitude to the Russian contribution in the Arab-Israeli settlement, the ambassador said. Russia plays a very important role in the international mediating quartet and the entire Mideast peace process, she noted.