OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, February 10, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The Russian invitation to the winners of Palestinian general elections Hamas received Friday, February 10, mixed reactions from the United States, Israel and France.

Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal, on his part, said Thursday the Islamic group would accept an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks in Moscow as the group prepares to form a new Palestinian government.

"If we are sent an invitation, we will accept it," Meshaal told a press conference in the Qatari capital.

Putin, on a visit to Spain, had earlier said he was inviting Hamas leaders for talks, and insisted Russia was right to back a dialogue with the group, which won a landslide victory in legislative polls last month.

"We are ready to work with all parties. Contacts with Hamas must continue. Today we have to recognize that Hamas came through the doors of power via legitimate means and also respect the choice of the Palestinian people."

Moscow, unlike the United States and the European Union, does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization.

Putin said it was time for the world to accept the poll result and work with a Hamas-led administration, even though the group has yet to accept key international demands to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.

Meshaal said "we salute the courageous Russian position and the declarations of President Putin ... in which he did not consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization.

That stance would "lead to a certain balance" in international relations, given that "American influence has begun to weaken as a result of impasses in which the American administration finds itself," he added.

Hamas' spokesman in the Gaza Strip, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that an invitation to Moscow would be accepted "with the aim of strengthening our relations with the West and particularly with the Russian government."

He said it would present an opportunity for the movement to "explain its position and its vision regarding Israel's deceptive policies."

The Russian stance would "lead to a certain balance" in international relations, Meshaal said.

France, on its part, said Friday that it approved of Russia's invitation to Hamas leaders for talks in Moscow, saying it could help the Middle East peace process.

The offer "may contribute to advancing our positions," foreign ministry spokesman Denis Simonneau said, referring to the so-called quartet sponsoring the Israeli-Palestinian peace process -- the European Union, United Nations, Russia and the United States.

Simonneau added the Russian initiative "had been taken without consulting the (quartet) partners, but it is within the framework of goals and principles we fixed for ourselves."

The United States, on its part, reacted coolly to Russia's move.

US officials asked Russia for details and reminded Moscow it had endorsed demands that Hamas abandon armed resistance and recognize Israel's right to exist after winning Palestinian elections last month.

"At this point we have sought some clarification from the Russians as to what exactly their intentions are, what their plans are," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

He stopped short of objecting to the invitation extended by Putin and quickly accepted by Hamas, but said the US ambassador to Moscow had contacted the Russian foreign ministry to learn more.

McCormack stressed that Russia was part of the diplomatic "quartet" that has demanded Hamas recognize Israel, give up its anti-Israeli attacks and respect agreements between the Palestinian Authority and the Jewish state.

"As a member of the quartet, we would certainly expect that Russia would deliver that same message," he said.

A senior State Department official, who asked not to be named, told AFP Moscow's initiative took Washington by surprise and added, "In our view, the only reason to engage with Hamas is to send this (quartet) message."

And as largely expected, the Jewish state was fuming Friday over the invitation, calling it "stab in the back".

"This initiative is a real knife in the back... because it aims to give international legitimacy to a terrorist group and we must oppose it with all our means," Education Minister Meir Sheetrit told public radio.

"What would Moscow say if we invited Chechen representatives (to Jerusalem) in response?" the minister asked.

"Putin is dancing with wolves," charged Housing Minister Zeev Boim.

"Anger in Israel: Putin is Spitting in Our Face," read the headline of the top-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper.

An analyst in the leading daily slammed Putin for making a "bloody pact" with Hamas and called his explanation for the invitation "cynical, baseless and particularly infuriating."

A commentary in the Ma'ariv newspaper said Putin had "shocked the entire world. Yesterday, Russia broke the worldwide alliance taking shape against Hamas."

But Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov responded Friday, defending the decision and predicted other countries would follow suit.

"I'm not afraid to predict that sometime in the future many leading states, and I'm thinking in particular about the quartet, will start supporting Hamas contacts... to make clear to Hamas authorities (their) attitudes... toward the Middle East settlement," he said.

Russia said the purpose of the meeting is to stress that the Islamist group must recognize Israel and renounce resistance.

"Everyone is telling Hamas that they must choose a balanced path because you can't get very far with such radical views," Russia's special envoy for the Middle East, Alexander Kalugin, said in an interview with Interfax, reported AFP.

"We will call on Hamas to change its position in the meeting with its representatives. We will uphold the positions of the international 'quartet'. This will be a signal to Hamas that we expect action in response.

"We call on them to adhere to prior agreements, to put an end to terrorist acts. And, of course, they must move to recognize Israel's right to exist," Kalugin said.