Hamas senior official says relations with Syrian regime severed in 2012

A senior member of Hamas political bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouk said on Wednesday that the movement has had no relations with the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad since its leadership left the capital, Damascus in 2012.

“There are no relations with Syria since we left it. The boycott is not only from us but from the other side [the Syrian regime]” Abu- Marzouk told reporters on the sidelines of his visit to Moscow.

“We hope that the situation in the region will improve because we are all brothers and brothers should always be in contact” he added.

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Over the years, Hamas has established strong relations with the Syrian regime. However, the relationship between the two sides was severed in 2012 after the movement refused to back the Syrian regime against protesters after the revolution of March 2011.

On the other hand, Abu Marzouk pointed out that the movement has a good relationship with the regime’s ally Iran, calling on major countries such as Russia and China to stand with Iran in the face of the US blockade.

“As many as 80 million people in Iran, are under siege and this is illegal because only the UN Security Council has authority to impose such sanctions,” he said.