Doha, August 4 (RHC)-- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has voiced support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. "We would like to see the Palestinians -- all of them -- have their permanent home," Lavrov said during a meeting with Khaled Meshaal, the political bureau chief of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in the Qatari capital Doha.

The Russian foreign policy chief also said that his country will work for the realization of such a goal. The Russian Foreign Ministry posted a statement saying that Lavrov in the meeting "has confirmed the support of efforts on restoring Palestinian national unity," Interfax reported.

The Hamas political bureau chief, for his part, said: "We hope that with assistance from Russia and the whole world, this dream will come true." The two political figures also discussed a host of issues surrounding Palestine including the Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in the occupied territories. Meshaal also accepted Lavrov's invitation to pay a visit to Russia. No date has been yet specified for the visit.

Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of Jerusalem.