STRELNA, July 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's President Vladimir Putin said that contacts with Palestinian Hamas movement and Lebanon's Hizbollah had helped to work on the Middle East resolution at the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg.
"We have feedback but unfortunately so far not on our statements but on our attempts to help end the violence and reduce the death toll; it is feedback with all the sides involved," Putin said when asked whether Russia had contacts with Hamas and Hizbollah.
"I hope that common sense will prevail," he said at a news conference rounding off the second day of the G8 summit near St. Petersburg.
"We maintain regular contacts," Putin said. "It helped us in our work on the resolution today."
He said Russia's advantage was that it did not close its doors to any parties to the Middle East conflict.
