Hamas vowed to save the Palestinian Authority unity government "accord from foreign pressures" on Monday, following the trilateral summit between United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal's deputy, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said following the summit that the U.S. was "pressuring" Abbas to renounce the deal, and accused the United States on Monday of "sowing sedition" throughout the Middle East.

The senior Damascus-based Hamas official hailed the unity agreement as "a change in the Palestinian national course" and said it was "based on partnership not on domination of one party."

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Olmert said following Monday's summit that Israel will maintain contact with Abbas, but not with the new Palestinian unity government.

The international community has demanded that any Palestinian government recognize Israel, accept previous peace deals and renounce violence, but the unity government deal, forged earlier this month in Mecca, only pledges to respect past peace agreements.

"Moreover, it is clear that all other commitments - including that to release Gilad Shalit immediately - must be upheld," said Olmert.

Abbas will leave Tuesday on a tour to Jordan and Europe in an effort to win support for the unity agreement he reached with Hamas, his office said Monday.

Abbas will meet with officials in England, Paris and Germany with the hope of convincing them of the importance of the agreement.

Abbas aide and senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said after the meeting Monday that Olmert and Rice reiterated the conditions to Abbas. When asked if it would be possible to compromise on the conditions, Erekat said: "I don't think we have any room for maneuvering."

Erekat said that two leaders also discussed a possible extension to a three-month-old cease-fire in the Gaza Strip to include the West Bank.

In a statement to the press after the three-way talks, Rice said that Olmert and Abbas agreed to meet again, and that she expected to return to the region soon.

She said that the two sides reiterated their commitment to the internationally brokered road map to Middle East peace and to "American participation" in negotiations.

"The president and prime minister agreed that they would meet together again soon. They reiterated their desire for American participation and leadership to overcome obstacles, rally regional and international support and move forward toward peace. In that vein, I expect to return to the region soon," she said.

"All three of us affirmed our commitment to a two-state solution, agreed that a Palestinian state cannot be born of violence and terror," she said.

Neither Abbas nor Olmert joined Rice as she delivered her brief statement to reporters, and she exited the room without taking questions.

Olmert, Abbas and Rice kicked off the summit with a working meeting shortly after 10:00 A.M. Monday at the David's Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem.

They met without any aides, except for Rice's Arabic interpreter, officials said. After about an hour, they moved to Rice's suite overlooking the Old City, continuing talks for another hour.

The talks were to be followed by a lunch meeting, in which Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Vice Premier Shimon Peres were to participate.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the first third of Monday's meeting focused on the unity government deal agreed earlier this month between Abbas' Fatah party and the ruling militant Hamas movement.

Rice told American journalists Sunday night that Washington would withhold judgment on the coalition agreement until it was fleshed out. But she acknowledged that the outlines didn't meet the demands of the Quartet of Middle East negotiators - the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia.

"If there's going to be a Palestinian state, then the Quartet principles would obviously have to be recognized because... this is the foundation for peace," she said.

"I haven't seen anything to date that suggests that this is a government that's going to meet the Quartet's principles, but you know... we will see once the government is formed," she said.

Rice held separate meetings Sunday with Olmert and Abbas. She also held talks with Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who was accompanied by Chief of Military Intelligence Amos Yadlin. She met separately with the likely future Palestinian finance minister, Salam Fayyad, and U.S. Senator John McCain, who is also in the region.

The U.S. and Israel made no promises to the PA on the eve of the summit. According to participants, Abbas presented the considerations which led to his agreeing to the Mecca Agreement.

Abbas asked Rice to consider the positive aspects of the Mecca Agreement, for instance Hamas' undertaking to honor the decisions of the Palestinian National Council, which include the Oslo Accords and mutual recognition with Israel.

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