Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Mideast envoy on Saturday night hold talks with exiled Hamas leader here to discuss a wide range of issues, official Syrian Arab New Agency (SANA) reported.

Visiting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Mideast Envoy Alexander Sultanov met in Russian embassy with Khaled Meshaal, exiled chief of the Hamas movement.

The two discussed the latest developments of Middle East region, Palestinian-Israeli conflicts as well as the reconciliation of Palestinian factions, according to the report.

In a statement issued after talks, Hamas movement said that the talks is "positive".

Palestinian factions, mainly Fatah and Hamas, have been at odds since Hamas seized control of Gaza from Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.

The two rival groups, together with other Palestinian factions, have held several rounds of negotiations in Cairo since March to iron out the rifts to reach national reconciliation. However, the talks have yielded no results so far.

To revitalize the long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Russia is planning to host an international peace conference on the Middle East in Moscow under the framework of two-state solution by the end of this year.

Before arriving in Syria on Friday, Sultanov has visited Egypt and Lebanon. His Mideast trip also includes Jordan, Palestinian territories and Israel to push forward the Moscow conference.

(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2009)