"We believe that a number of policies provided by the new Hamas doctrine, including the acceptance of the concept of the Palestinian state creation within the 1967 borders, represents a step in the right direction," the statement read, adding that the achievement of national unity by the Palestinians requires similar further steps from Hamas and other Palestinian groups.
The Foreign Ministry reiterated Moscow's readiness to help the Middle Eastern nation in achieving national unity.
"We are sure that overcoming intra-Palestinian disagreements will create the necessary preconditions for a fair resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the realization of the legal rights of the Palestinian people for the creation of their own independent state," the statement stressed.
Hamas, however, pointed out that the changes in the movement's platform, which bring it closer with the position of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), governing the West Bank, does not imply recognition of Israel and support for the negotiation process with the Jewish state.
In 1967, Israel seized the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula and the West Bank including East Jerusalem. Palestinians, as well as the international community, did not recognize Israeli territorial acquisitions. Russia supports the creation of the Palestinian state on the basis of PLO and the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, within the borders of 1967.
