Israeli Ambassador: 'Russia and I have the same goal'
At a press conference in TASS, Simone Halperin, recently appointed Ambassador of the State of Israel to Russia, said that if Russia and the Jewish state have some disagreements, it is not on the issue of releasing hostages captured by terrorists from the Hamas group. “There are many issues on which Israel and the Russian Federation have some disagreements. We do not agree on everything in our region in the current situation. But there is one issue, one mission, one plot on which there is no disagreement. Russia and Israel have one goal – to free all hostages,” Ms. Galperin said, TASS reports .
The RIA Novosti agency, in turn, clarifies that Israel, according to its ambassador, is confident in Russia’s ability to influence the speedy release of the hostages. “Israel appeals and asks to assist and take all possible measures and efforts to free the hostages. We believe that the Russian Federation has the influence and the ability to put effort into this and successfully solve the problem,” said Ms. Galperin.
Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Bogdanov, at a meeting with the relatives and friends of Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov, held hostage in the Gaza Strip by terrorists from the Hamas group, said that the release of compatriots is a priority in contacts with Hamas.
Let us recall that during the humanitarian truce, which was in effect from November 24 to December 1, 105 civilians, including 81 Israelis, were released by terrorists. Three people with Russian citizenship then returned from captivity: 25-year-old Ron Krivoy, 50-year-old Elena Trufanova and her 73-year-old mother Irina Tatti. Hamas currently continues to hold more than 130 hostages in Gaza. According to the IDF, at least 28 of them were killed. In December, the Ambassador of the State of Israel to Russia, Alexander Ben Zvi, said that three Russian citizens remained captured by Hamas terrorists.