MOSCOW, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has continued his attack on U.S. foreign policy, calling Hamas' victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections early last year a defeat for U.S. Mideast diplomacy.

    "Of course, this was a severe blow to American diplomacy," Putin told the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV channel on Sunday, ahead of his visit to Saudi Arabia.

    Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, defeated the long-dominant Fatah group of President Mahmoud Abbas in the poll in January 2006. The United States, Israel and the EU severed ties with the Hamas-led government subsequently.

    "Hamas carried the elections. It is the power of people," Putin said. "It is necessary to respect the choice of people." Hamas calls for Israel's destruction.

    Acknowledging that powerful countries could wield significant influence, Putin said, "We would really like our American partners as well to act more cooperatively and listen more to all those involved in this process."

    Russia acted correctly by establishing contacts with the Hamas movement after its victory, he said.

    The Russian leader, however, softened his tongue by saying that the United States should not bear full responsibility for everything that is going on in the Middle East.

    "There is a lot we do not like and we disagree with U.S. policy,but it would also be wrong to demonize it," Putin said.

    "First of all, it is those who live in those territories, the Arab states, Israel, and Palestine itself, who bear responsibility for all that is going on there," he said, adding that the United States, Russia, and Europe also bear responsibility for the situation.

    Putin said it is impossible to settle the conflict in the Middle East unilaterally. "The developments in Iraq have shown that it is just impossible to resolve problems on one's own no matter how mighty a country is."

    In a surprising move, Putin, in one of his harshest criticisms of the United States in seven years in power, lashed out at U.S. foreign policy on Saturday, accusing Washington of attempting to force its will on the world.

    In a speech in Germany, Putin accused the United States of making the world a more dangerous place by pursuing policies aimed at making it the globe's "one single master."

    Criticizing the concept of a "unipolar" world in which the United States was the sole superpower, he said, "What is a unipolar world? No matter how we beautify this term it means one single centre of power, one single centre of force and one single master."

    Moscow wants to play a bigger diplomatic role in the Middle East's trouble spots of Iran, Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

    Besides Saudi Arabia, Putin will also be visiting Qatar and Jordan on his Middle East trip.

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