President Vladimir Putin and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Friday will talk over plans for a Middle East conference in Moscow that Russia hopes will further its role in world diplomacy, according to dpa. Abbas said Friday that both sides conceived of the conference as the "continuation" of peace talks held in the US city of Annapolis last fall. In an interview aired on news channel Vesti24 on Friday, he praised Russia's "historical role as a crucial party in Middle East conflict negotiations. It participated in all events connected with settlement." "I will tell Vladimir Putin about the actual state of negotiations," Abbas said. Business daily Kommersant said Friday that hearing from "the horse's mouth" was precisely Moscow's aim in calling the talks, feeling that Washington has monopolized the Middle East peace process. "Moscow is virtually in the dark about the current state of the Israeli-Palestinian talks ... while Washington gets all the details after every round of talks," the newspaper said. Russia was the only major power absent from annual Doha conference held in the Gulf state of Qatar on Thursday, the newspaper also noted. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and one of the Middle East Quartet alongside the European Union, the United Nations and the United States, a resurgent Russia is keen to increase its weight in international negotiations as part of an effort to balance US hegemony. On UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon visit to Moscow this month, Putin promised to increase Russia's financial and military contribution to the organization. On Friday, Putin will offer the Palestinian National Authority an annual 10 million dollars in aid as well as armoured vehicles and two helicopters. Moscow will also increase the number of Palestinian secret service agents it trains per year, Kommersant reported. Abbas earlier said a Middle East conference in Moscow could take place in June, saying it was imperative to "save the peace process." The Palestinian leader, who graduated from Moscow's State Institute of Oriental Studies, arrived Wednesday for a three-day visit including talks with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Moscow Patriarch Alexei II earlier Friday.
