Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on the Palestinian radical Islamic group Hamas on Tuesday to release captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Kremlin spokeswomen Natalia Timakova said.
The Israel Defense Forces soldier was seized in June 2006 by Palestinian militants while on patrol near the Gaza Strip.
Gaza has been the subject of an almost continuous Israeli blockade since Hamas took control of the enclave in the summer of 2007. The release of Shalit is a major precondition for the lifting of the blockade.
DAMASCUS, May 11 (RIA Novosti)
