MOSCOW, Feb 10: Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has built his reputation on talking tough on terrorism, came under international pressure on Friday for his invitation to leaders of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas for talks in Moscow.

The United States called for Russia to clarify its intentions and an Israeli minister described the move by Mr Putin, who has made the bloody anti-separatist war in Chechnya a hallmark of his presidency, as a “knife in the back.”

Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov responded by predicting that the international community would eventually support the olive branch held out to Hamas.

“I’m not afraid to predict that some time in the future many leading states, and I’m thinking in particular about the quartet, will start supporting Hamas contacts... to make clear to the Hamas authorities the attitudes of one or another state toward Middle East settlement,” he said during an official visit to Italy.

However, an earlier statement by the quartet — the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia — made clear that relations with Hamas were possible only if the organisation affirmed Israel’s right to exist and renounced violence.

The diplomatic row began on Thursday when Mr Putin said he would invite Hamas officials to Moscow “soon” for discussions on the future of the Middle East peace process.

Hamas welcomed the proposal and said it would attend talks.

There was support Friday from France’s foreign ministry, which said that the proposal “may contribute to advancing our positions” on the Middle East peace process.

Russia’s special envoy to the Middle East, Alexander Kalugin, also sought to underline that Russia was not giving Hamas a free ride.

“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,” he told Interfax news agency.

“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.

Russian commentators were divided Friday over whether Putin’s offer to Hamas was positive.

Russia’s Kommersant daily said Moscow wants to persuade Hamas to “leave all of Palestine’s international contacts under the control of (Palestinian leader) Mahmud Abbas” and to enforce monitoring over how Western funds given to the Palestinian authority are spent.

The Izvestia daily put the Hamas invitation in the context of Moscow’s policy on Iran’s nuclear programme, saying Putin “has now assumed the role of the main dove of peace” in the Middle East.

Russia is seeking to position itself as a key broker in the international crisis over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

An important proposal for ending the standoff includes an offer from Moscow to enrich Iran’s uranium on Russian territory. That, Moscow says, would allow Iran to run a civilian programme and the international community to keep tabs on potential bomb-making material.

Izvestia said, however, that Putin’s role has been undermined by only partial diplomatic success over Iran.

But Viktor Kremenyuk, an independent analyst from the USA-Canada Institute in Moscow, said Russia’s Iranian diplomacy could actually help links with Hamas because of ties between the Islamic republic and the Palestinian group.

“Moscow has very good relations with Tehran and Tehran could push Hamas to ensure that the Moscow visit gives results.” —AFP