TEHRAN -- Hamas political leader Kahled Meshaal was scheduled to arrive in Moscow on Tuesday evening, Al-Alam TV said on its website.

Unlike the U.S. and Europe, Russia does not regard Hamas as a terrorist group and believes it should have a role in settling the Palestine issue, the report added.
Meshaal’s visit comes on the heels of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s trip to Moscow, which analysts say Abbas undertook to ask Russia to limit its ties with Hamas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia recognizes Abbas as the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people.
""I would like to reassure you that Russia will support you as the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people. I am confident that you will do everything to restore the unity of the Palestinian people,"" Putin said at his meeting with Abbas in the Kremlin.