The head of the Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs Authority Hussein al-Sheikh met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday.
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On Twitter, al-Sheikh said the Moscow meeting had focused on regional and international as well as bilateral issues.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was also in attendance at the meeting, during which Lavrov expressed his condolences for the death of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh and emphasized the need for a comprehensive and professional investigation of the circumstances surrounding her death.
Al-Sheikh's visit comes just two weeks after a delegation of senior Hamas officials overseas visited the country. During that visit, Hamas officials met with Bogdanov and attempted to organize a meeting with Lavrov. While Hamas has received a general invitation for a meeting with Lavrov, a date has yet to be set.
In the past, Russia had attempted to mediate talks between Hamas and Fatah in an effort to promote peace talks between the Gaza Strip and Ramallah. These efforts, however, did not prove fruitful at the time.
The recent talks between the Russians and the Palestinians come, among other things, as Russia seeks to gain a certain degree of influence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would allow it to serve as a counterweight to the US.
Russian-Israeli ties remain tense following Lavrov's assertion that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish roots.
The remarks by Russia's top diplomat sparked a diplomatic spat between the two countries, with Foreign Minister and Prime Minister-designate Yair Lapid calling the comments "unforgivable, scandalous, and a horrible historical error." In a phone call with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for Lavrov's claims.
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