Israeli ambassador, Russian deputy FM meet at Russian Foreign Ministry to discuss Gaza, evacuation of Russian citizens

MOSCOW. Nov 9 (Interfax) - Russian Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi met in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the evacuation of Russian citizens from the Gaza Strip.

"The ongoing armed confrontation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone was discussed in a frank conversation. Special attention was paid to the effectiveness of the active contacts being maintained to swiftly find a solution to pressing humanitarian issues, including the unblocking of the process of Russian citizens' safe evacuation from the Gaza Strip to Egypt via the Rafah border crossing, and the release of hostages being held by Hamas, including those with Russian citizenship," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website on Thursday.