(Reuters) – The Palestinian Hamas movement is ready to establish contact and hold talks with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Russia’s RIA state news agency cited a senior Hamas official as saying in remarks published early on Wednesday.
“We are ready for contact and talks with the Trump administration,” RIA cited senior Hamas Politburo member Mousa Abu Marzouk as saying.
“In the past, we did not object to contacts with the administration of (former U.S. President Joe) Biden, Trump or any other U.S. administration, and we are open to talks with all international parties.”
It was not clear when RIA interviewed Marzouk, who was visiting Moscow on Monday for talks with the Russian foreign ministry.
Trump vowed on Tuesday that the U.S. would take over the war-shattered Gaza Strip after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere and develop it economically, a move that would shatter decades of U.S. policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Marzouk told RIA that talks with the U.S. have become a kind of necessity for Hamas, considering that Washington is a key player in the Middle East.
“That is why we welcomed the talks with the Americans and have no objection to this issue,” he added.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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