Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met with top Russian officials Monday in a bid to win Moscow's support in upcoming peace talks with Israel and expressed high regard for Russia's role in the Mideast peace process. He told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that he had done everything to make Moscow his first foreign destination outside the Mideast region following his election earlier this month. "It shows the respect the Palestinian people feel toward the Russian people and it shows the important role that Russia plays on the world arena, above all in the Middle East, namely in the quartet, in which Russia is a most notable representative," Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen, said through a translator. The so-called quartet seeking Mideast peace also includes the United States, the United Nations and the European Union. "I would like to personally congratulate on being elected the head of Palestinian National Authority," Lavrov told Abbas at the start of their meeting. "We'll be supporting you and we'll be actively developing Russia-Palestinian relations." Later in the day, Abbas met with Boris Gryzlov, the speaker of the lower house of parliament. "We have always supported you in your difficult fight for independence," Gryzlov told Abbas. "Today we are seeing quite favorable conditions for a peaceful settlement." Abbas was also set to meet with President Vladimir Putin. Abbas' trip comes amid renewed hopes for peace after a sharp drop in violence between Israel and the Palestinians, and the Foreign Ministry said his talks with Lavrov would focus on peace efforts. Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said that Abbas had begun resolute efforts to reform Palestinian power structures, including security agencies, and to stem extremist and terrorist activity, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. "The new Palestinian administration is working on the provision of order in the Palestinian territories and the containment of terrorists," it quoted him as saying. Yakovenko said topics at the talks would also include bilateral relations, Iraq and democratization and reforms in the Middle East, ITAR-Tass reported. The Palestinian envoy to Moscow, Khairi Al-Oridi, told the Interfax news agency that Palestinian leaders "are counting on the international community, including of course Russia, to convince Israel to fully reject the use of force and begin realization of the provisions of the 'road map' plan" _ the proposal sponsored by the quartet. Abbas has visited Jordan and Egypt and is also to travel to Turkey and Switzerland. He leaves Russia on Tuesday morning.
