Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday hailed the Palestinian unity government agreement that was concluded last week with Saudi brokerage in Mecca, and said he hoped the deal would set conditions for lifting the international boycott placed on Palestinians.

After meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Putin told reporters he hoped to see an end to the bloodshed that has resulted from the Palestinian infighting, adding, "We also hope that the agreement will lead to the formation of an efficient Palestinian government that creates the conditions for lifting the blockade imposed on the Palestinian people."

Putin spoke prior to his departure for home at the end of a regional tour that took him also to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

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He praised the Saudi role in brokering the Mecca deal, which he said should help "re-launch the peace process with a view to reaching a settlement with Israel."

The Russian president urged the release of Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip several last summer.

"The release of the Israeli soldier will be an important step," he said.

He pointed out that Russia was "working actively" within the framework of the Middle East Quartet for the sake of the Palestinian question.

Official: Palestinian PM to resign in two days to form new cabinet
Meanwhile, a Palestinian official said Tuesday that Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and his Hamas-led cabinet would resign in the next two days to make way for a unity government with the rival Fatah faction.

Haniyeh is expected to lead the new government, according to the terms of a deal agreed between Hamas and Fatah in Saudi Arabia last week which aimed to end factional warfare in Gaza and ease an economic embargo on the Palestinian Authority.

"The prime minister will submit his cabinet's resignation within two days so that he can begin constitutional measures to form the unity government," the official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

In Jordan, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told Russian President Vladimir Putin the step would take place in the next two or three days "if there are no unpleasant surprises".

Haniyeh earlier said it was too soon to say when he will resign, and officials said he and Abbas of Fatah still had to finalize issues from the Saudi-brokered deal including naming an interior minister and deputy prime minister.

Haniyeh met leaders of 13 Palestinian factions on Tuesday, seeking to win support for the power-sharing deal with Abbas.

"Constitutional measures will begin to implement the agreement on the ground," said Palestinian cabinet spokesman Ghazi Hamad after the meeting.

"There are consultations between President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. We are working speedily and we do not want to waste any time," he said, adding the two men could meet in the next two days.

Abbas and Hamas have also still to settle their differences over the fate of Hamas's 5,600-member "executive" police force. Fatah is pushing for the force to be broken up, whereas Hamas wants to keep the force together.

Fighting between Hamas and Fatah killed more than 90 Palestinians between late December and early February.

The Quartet of Middle East mediators - the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations - cut off direct funding of the Palestinian Authority after Hamas came to power last year.

Hamas, an Islamist movement, has rejected the Quartet's conditions for restoring aid: recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence and acceptance of existing interim peace agreements.

The unity agreement Hamas signed with the long-dominant Fatah faction in Mecca last Thursday made no explicit commitment to recognize Israel.

Russia and some EU countries have welcomed the Mecca agreement, but the United States has withheld judgment.

Israeli officials said the government was considering suspending contacts with Abbas if the unity government did not meet all three Quartet demands.

The move could increase pressure on Abbas and hinder U.S. efforts to revive long-stalled peace talks. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans a three-way summit with Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on February 19.

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