Moscow ready to work with all-Hamas Govt

MOSCOW, Wednesday (AFP,Reuters) Russia is ready to work with the new leadership of the Palestinian Authority, even if it is made up exclusively of Hamas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday, according to the Interfax news agency.

Lavrov, who was in London for international talks over the Iranian nuclear threat and the situation in the Middle East, said Russia would not reject the new Palestinian leadership, whatever it is.

"We do not reject relations with the new Palestinian leadership, whether it is with the parliament or with the government that the parliament forms," he said.

"It is very likely that there will be some sort of coalition," said Lavrov. "But we can not exclude the possibility of an all-Hamas government."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier Tuesday that the international community should continue to help the Palestinians in spite of Hamas' win in last week's legislative elections.

Putin also stressed that Russia's position on Hamas differed from that taken by the United States and the European Union. "Our foreign ministry has never described Hamas as a terrorist organization," he said.

This difference however did not mean that Hamas could expect Russia's unqualified support. "Hamas must leave its radical declarations, must recognize Israel's right to exist and normalize contact with the international community," the Russian leader said.

Meanwhile the Palestinian government should continue to receive international aid despite concerns over last week's election victory by Islamic militant group Hamas, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said in an interview on Wednesday.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Wolfowitz urged Russia, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations to allow the bank to continue working in the region. The so-called Quartet of world powers has said Hamas must reject violence and recognise the right of Israel to exist or risk losing the aid.

"What we do now depends on what the Quartet asks us to do," Wolfowitz told the British newspaper. "I hope they will ask us to stay."