Abbas seeks Russia's support in Moscow talks

MOSCOW, July 30 (Reuters) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sought Russia's backing today in his feud with rival faction Hamas for control over the Palestinian territories.

Abbas fired his Hamas-led government after the faction forcibly took control of the Gaza strip on June 14 but Russia -- alone among members of the so-called Quartet of Middle East peace brokers -- is still in contact with Hamas leaders.

Abbas met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and will hold talks with President Vladimir Putin tomorrow, their first meeting since Hamas, a militant group that does not recognise Israel, seized control of Gaza.

''We strongly support you as the legitimate leader of all Palestinians. We support all your efforts to restore the unity of the Palestinian people and to resume the peace process in the Middle East,'' Lavrov said at the start of his talks with Abbas.

''We are convinced that your meeting tomorrow with President Putin will allow us to mark out a future road map for our cooperation ... and for the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.'' Abbas said Russia was an influential player whose support the Palestinians needed in what he described as a difficult period.

''We have a lot to talk about. There is the question of Palestinian unity, there is the question of Middle East peace and the peace conference,'' Abbas told Lavrov via an interpreter.

Washington is planning before the end of this year to hold a conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict it hopes will revive the peace process.

''We will of course discuss all of these issues with President Putin and will discuss with him ways that could help us get out of this internal impasse and political impasse,'' said Abbas.

Russia, along with the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, make up the Quartet.

The United States and the European Union have sought to bolster Abbas and sideline the Hamas militant group financially and diplomatically.

Russia has said it wants to keep lines of communication open with Hamas. Lavrov last week had a telephone conversation with Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal.

Hamas, which won a Palestinian parliamentary election last year, is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, the European Union and Israel.

Washington has led efforts to isolate the Hamas-dominated government, demanding that it renounce violence, recognise Israel's right to exist and abide by existing agreements with the Jewish state.

REUTERS PD KP1912