MOSCOW. Sept 3 (Interfax) - Russia's Special Presidential Representative and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has met with Israeli Ambassador Simona Halperin in Moscow for a comprehensive discussion of the problems concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry's website stated on Tuesday.
"The conversation involved a comprehensive discussion of the problems concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Russian side explained Moscow's consistent principled position in support of a comprehensive Middle Eastern settlement based on the resolutions of the UN and its Security Council," the statement said.
On pressing issues of the bilateral agenda, the two sides "reaffirmed their determination to maintain the active Russian-Israeli political dialogue on international and regional topics of mutual interest," the statement said.
Bogdanov received Halperin at her request.
On October 7, 2023 Hamas attacked Israel, resulting in more than 1,200 people dead and another 240 taken hostage. Israel responded by launching a military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since then, more than 40,500 people have been killed and almost 94,000 injured in Gaza, Palestinian healthcare services said. But these statistics from the health ministry in Gaza make no distinction between civilians and armed group members.
On September 1 the Israeli government said its military advisor had visited Moscow to discuss the situation in Gaza.
Last Sunday it was reported that the Israel Defense Forces had found and recovered the bodies of six hostages, including a Russian man, Alexander Lobanov, in the Rafah area in the Gaza Strip, and delivered them to Israel.