In 1930, the Executive Committee of the Communist International described Zionism as "the expression of the exploiting, and great power oppressive strivings, of the Jewish bourgeoisie.

"[2] Also, the Communist Party of Palestine, founded by Jewish immigrants in 1919, upon admission to the Comintern, was strongly advised to "support the national freedom of the Arab population against the British–Zionist occupation.

The Soviet Union began to reduce its support for Third World and other leftist guerrilla movements and urged them to embrace reconciliation.

USSR also encouraged (albeit unsuccessfully) Yasser Arafat and the PLO to recognize Israel before the Palestinian Declaration of Independence on November 15, 1988, in Algiers, Algeria.

During and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Russia began to improve its relations with Israel, which had been cut off in the aftermath of the Six-Day War.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the newly created Russian Federation continued supporting the militants, albeit in a somewhat limited fashion.

Before the meeting, in an interview on February 10, 2006, Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Kommersant journalist Andrey Kolesnikov and a Spanish parliament member, said that he does not consider Hamas a freedom fighter organization.

During the talks in March 2006, Lavrov called on Hamas to comply with the earlier commitments signed by the PLO, reiterating those requirements.

[citation needed] Palestine has separate governments in the Gaza Strip (Hamas) and the West Bank (Fatah) after a brief civil war in 2007.

[17] On January 26, 2010, Mahmoud Abbas met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to discuss the situation in the Middle East.

[19] After the Gaza flotilla raid on May 31, 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for a thorough investigation of the incident and said that, in any case, the deaths of people are irreversible.

[21] In a rare display of unity, the Foreign Ministries of Russia and the EU adopted a joint statement concerning the flotilla attack, which correlates with the UN Security Council activity in the situation.

"[23] The head of the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachev, called for an "urgent meeting" of the Middle East Quartet to discuss the incident.

[citation needed] On April 28, 2011 after the rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas signed a deal (ultimately unfulfilled) to form a national unity government ahead of the national elections, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Sazonov said that Russia was pleased with the fact that the Palestinians were able to reach an accord and that Russia hoped that with the implementation of the accord there will be hope for peace in the Middle East.

[28] On November 29, 2012, Russia voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 67/19 on upgrading Palestine to non-member observer state status in the United Nations.

[29] During the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging him to stop the operation in Gaza that “lead [sic] to multiple deaths among civilians."

"[30] In a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin said further fighting in Gaza will lead to a dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian situation and to more casualties and suffering among the civilian population.

Putin stressed that "there is no alternative to ceasefire and a political settlement" and reiterated his readiness to "facilitate mediatory efforts and the implementation of peace initiatives, including within the UN framework".

[31] Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, in the upper house of the Russian Parliament, Mikhail Margelov, said Russia is ready to facilitate reconciliation between Palestine and Israel.