Novo-Ogarevo(Russia): Russian President Vladimir Putin and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas met today to discuss plans for a Middle East peace conference, as Moscow seeks a greater diplomatic role in the region.

Abbas told reporters as the two leaders met that he would speak to the Russian president about "the organisation of a peace conference."

Putin, who had just arrived from Italy, where he visited the Italian prime minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi, called the situation in the Middle East "difficult."

In talks at Putin's residence "special attention will be paid to... Possible steps by Russia including its initiative to hold a Moscow meeting on the Middle East," a Kremlin official told journalists on condition of anonymity before the meeting.

The official noted continued attacks by Palestinian militants on Israel and Israel's "disproportionate" response and said Putin and Abbas would discuss how to stabilise the situation and restore Palestinian unity.

Earlier in his visit, Abbas said a Moscow peace conference was urgently needed as Israeli-Palestinian negotiations begun in Annapolis in the United States last November were "not advancing at the required pace or yielding the necessary progress."

Separately Abbas told the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta the conference would "be evidence of Russia's significance in the region and would strengthen her role in the peace process."

Source : PTI