Russia tells Hamas it must recognise Israel

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Palestinian election winner Hamas on Friday that it must recognise Israel's right to exist, Interfax news agency said.
Lavrov, speaking after talks with the leadership of the Islamist militant group, said he had insisted that all the views laid out by the Quartet group, that includes the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, must be respected.
"That means above all the need to stick by all existing agreements, the need to recognise the right of Israel to exist as a partner in negotiations (and) the need to reject all armed methods of settling political questions," Interfax quoted him as saying.