Hamas wants Russia to push Abbas towards unity government for post-war Gaza

Palestinian movement Hamas wants Russia to push Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to begin negotiations on a national unity government for post-war Gaza, a senior Hamas official told the RIA state news agency after talks in Moscow.

Mousa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas politburo member, met Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Moscow.

"We discussed issues related to Palestinian national unity and the creation of a government that should govern the Gaza Strip after the war," Marzouk was quoted as saying by RIA.

Marzouk said that Hamas had asked Russia to encourage Abbas, who is attending the Brics summit in Kazan, to start negotiations about a unity government, RIA reported.

Abbas is head of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the governing body of the occupied Palestinian territories.

Reporting by Reuters