A senior Russian diplomat has urged a top official of the Palestinian movement Hamas to keep to its commitment to release a Russian hostage held by the group since its raid on Israel in October 2023, Reuters reports.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov raised the issue in talks in Moscow with Musa Abu Marzuk, a member of Hamas’s Politburo, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“It was again stressed from the Russian side that it was vital to fulfil the promise expressed by the Hamas leadership concerning the release of Russian citizen A. Trufanov and others being held hostage in the Gaza Strip,” it said.

The statement also noted the “importance of continuing appropriate work in the interests of achieving inter-Palestinian unity”.

Alexander Trufanov is one of the hostages still being held in Gaza after being kidnapped from a kibbutz in the mass raid on Israeli targets on Oct 7, 2023.

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