 Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday downplayed the Russian foreign minister's observation that it was "unrealistic" to demand that the Palestinians' Hamas rulers immediately recognize Israel and disarm.
| That's what rational people would do. |
Those demands, which enjoy Israeli support, were made by the so-called Quartet of international Mideast negotiators, to which Russia belongs. On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, should be given more time to accept these demands.
| They're expected at some point in the undefined future to become rational. |
"In the end, the policy will be set by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," an Israeli government official quoted Olmert as telling Cabinet at its weekly session. In the meantime, Olmert said, "there is no change in the principles laid down by the Quartet and Russia," said the official, who took part in the meeting.
| 'Nother words, the requirement remains, but nobody's going to push it. |
Western powers and Israel have imposed crushing international sanctions on the Hamas-led government in an effort to pressure it to accept the Quartet's demands.
| I'd be a lot happier if the Western powers and Israel had stated that Hamas is an outlaw group that rejects norms of governance and international relations and that no one's going to deal with them. |
So far, Hamas has remain unbowed, even though the sanctions have rendered it unable to pay 165,000 civil servants who provide for one-third of Palestinians. Olmert said Russian officials did not urge Israel to soften its stance regarding Hamas during his three-day visit to Moscow last week. At the same time, he acknowledged that while Russia has become more evenhanded in its approach to Israel, Moscow could not be expected to totally reverse its historical support for the Palestinians.
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