MOSCOW, February 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia was acting on behalf of the four mediators involved in the Middle East peace process when it invited representatives of Hamas to Moscow, a senior member of the lower chamber of parliament said Tuesday.
Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the State Duma's international affairs committee, said: "In inviting Hamas, we may not have been acting on the instructions but on behalf of the four intermediaries [the UN, EU, U.S. and Russia]."
He said talks with representatives of the new Palestinian leadership would promote the peace process in the Middle East.
"The purpose of Moscow talks is to keep the new Palestinian leadership within the framework of political dialogue," Kosachev said.
President Vladimir Putin announced during a visit to Spain last week that he was planning to invite the leaders of Hamas, the radical movement that won a landslide victory in Palestine's general elections in late January, to Moscow for talks.
Hamas has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on Israel and refuses to recognize the Jewish state as a country. Its victory has endangered the peace process in the region and jeopardized Western aid to the Palestinian National Authority.
"Today, [we] must recognize that Hamas came to power via legitimate, democratic elections in the Palestinian National Authority, which is why we must respect the choice of the Palestinian people," Putin said.
