A Hamas delegation will visit Russia on March 3, the movement's spokesman said on Thursday.

Salah Bardaweil told reporters that the visit by the delegation, headed by the group's exiled leader Khaled Mashal and his deputy Musa Abu Marzooq, was aimed at ending the political and economic siege imposed on the Palestinian people.

Bardaweil said Hamas wanted to change the defamed image of the Palestinians which showed them as aggressors.

The visit came at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin after Hamas swept the Jan. 25 Palestinian parliamentary elections by garnering 74 seats in the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).

The invitation from Moscow angered Israel and the United States, which list the Islamic group as a terrorist organization.

According to Russian officials, Russia would explain to Hamas the approaches of the Quartet Committee, grouping the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.

Israel has decided to halt tax transfers to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) as part of its sanctions against a Hamas- led government to be formed.

Source: Xinhua