JERUSALEM, Feb. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Israel denounced on Friday a Russian invitation to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to Moscow for talks, slamming it as a "stab in the back", local Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported.

   Israeli Education and Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "stabbing Israel in the back" for inviting Hamas to visit Moscow for future talks, said the report.

   Sheetrit also said that Russia should be ruled out in playing any role in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

   "Russia cannot fill any position regarding negotiations with the Palestinians, unless it changes its position on Hamas," Sheetrit was quoted as telling Israel Radio.

   Sheetrit's comments came one day after Putin told a press conference in Madrid, Spain that Russia was ready to invite Hamas members for talks in Moscow in the near future following the group's landslide victory in last month's Palestinian legislative elections.

   Putin also said that Russia has never considered Hamas a terror organization.

   Hamas leader Ismail Haneya said Hamas leaders would agree to visit Russia if they receive an official invitation.

   Israel was shocked by Russia's move as Russia is a member of the Quartet committee, the international mediator group for the Middle East conflict, along with the United Nations, the United States and the European Union.

   Putin's announcement on Thursday contradicts a statement issued by the Quartet late last month, which urged Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, to renounce violence, recognize the existence of Israel and abide by previous Palestinian accords with Israel including the road map peace plan which envisions an independent Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.

   The Quartet Committee also said that it would review aid packages to the Palestinian National Authority.

   In an immediate reaction to Putin's statements, Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mark Regev urged Russia on late Thursday to follow the Quartet's consensus on Hamas.

   In addition, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with the UN ambassadors of the five permanent Security Council members in New York on late Thursday, urging them to stand firm on the Quartet's conditions for Hamas.

   The five permanent members of the Security Council are Russia, the United States, Britain, France and China.

   "Every sign of weakness and of recognition will be interpreted by Hamas as legitimizing terror," Livni warned.

   "It's important that the international community insists on the fulfillment of these conditions," said Livni.

   Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, is listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. and the EU as a driving force behind years of violence against Israel.

   The group has not changed its call for the destruction of the Jewish state even after its electoral victory.

   It is expected to form a new Palestinian cabinet later this month after the inauguration of the Palestinian Legislative Council on Feb. 16. Enditem