putin invites hamas

Hamas invited to Moscow for talks
11 feburary, 2006

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin ended a two-day visit to Spain yesterday by inviting Hamas leaders to Moscow for Middle East peace talks.

He insisted his Government was right to back a dialogue with the radical Islamic group.

"We are ready to work with all parties. Contacts with Hamas must continue," Mr Putin said.

The move was slammed by Israel, while Washington reacted coolly, amid its efforts to force Hamas to renounce violence before taking power.

Hamas won a surprise victory in Palestinian legislative elections last month and is expected to take power within three months.

Mr Putin said: "We have never considered Hamas a terrorist organisation. Having maintained our contacts with the organisation Hamas, we intend to invite their leaders to Moscow in the near future to search for solutions."

Mr Putin's invitation to Hamas is being seen as part of his strategy to place Russia centre stage in a year when it has assumed the chairmanship of the Group of Eight industrialised democracies.

Mr Zapatero backed the move, which Hamas's spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, said it would happily accept, as an opportunity to "explain its position and its vision regarding Israel's deceptive policies".
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