On Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is also the leader of Fatah, called for dialogue with Hamas for the first time since the hard-line Islamic movement seized power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007. He also added that he was ready to call early presidential and parliamentary elections if an agreement was reached. Hamas, in turn, unconditionally agreed on a resumption of peace talks.
"Moscow shares the determination of Fatah and Hamas... to overcome the split," the statement says. "We are for the resumption of a full-scale peace talks."
However, Abbas' aides have since said that Hamas must cede Gaza before any talks can be launched.
The ministry said the resumption of peace talks between the two factions was necessary to promote peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority.
In 2004, Abbas was elected to succeed the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, but lost the 2006 parliamentary elections to Hamas. A year later, Hamas seized control of Gaza. In response, Abbas established his own government in the West Bank.
