Russia intends to downgrade its ties with Hamas, and no high-level contacts with the Palestinian faction are planned for the near future, Russia's deputy foreign minister said Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told visiting Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday that he is the legitimate leader of all Palestinians, Russian news agencies reported. Abbas heads the Fatah Party, Hamas' rival.

"I want to assure you that Russia will support you as the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people. I am convinced that you will do everything to restore the unity of the Palestinian people," Putin was quoted by ITAR-Tass and Interfax as telling Abbas during his visit to Moscow.

	Advertisement

"We have repeatedly come out in favor of the legal defense of the Palestinian people, down to the creation of a Palestinian state," ITAR-Tass quoted Putin as saying.

The visit is Abbas' first to Russia since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June. The takeover prompted a flurry of diplomatic activity, with the international community lining up behind Abbas and the West Bank-based government of moderates he has installed.

At a news conference later, Abbas called on Hamas to take responsibility and apologize for the crimes that it committed against its people.

On the question of legislative elections, which are designed to freeze the Hamas militant group from power, Abbas said that they should be held as soon as possible, but said no date had yet been decided.

Russia is a member of the Quartet of Mideast negotiators, which also includes the United States, the United Nations and the European Union.

Last year, Moscow drew the ire of Israel and Western nations by hosting Hamas' top leadership for talks. Many observers have said the Hamas talks in Russia were part of an effort by Moscow to regain influence it enjoyed in the Middle East during the Soviet era.

Abbas, who met with Putin in Jordan in February, made his previous trip to Moscow in May 2006.

In an interview published in Tuesday's edition of the Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Abbas said Russia had to make its own decision about whether to maintain contacts with Hamas.

"This is an affair for Russia as a sovereign state and does not create any problems for our bilateral relations," he was quoted as saying.

"We will present to Russia our point of view on the situation. This will be one of the main topics of the talks with the Russian leadership. Along with this, we cannot interfere in their policies and their initiatives," he said.

Abbas repeated his argument that Hamas' Gaza takeover was a coup d'etat. "We can talk about the reestablishment of dialogue and settlement of relations only after Hamas abandons this coup and its results," he said.