Lebanese Media Report Russia Offers to Host Fatah-Hamas Meeting

Russ has offered to host a peace-pipe meeting between Hamas and Fatah, the Lebanese as-Safir newspaper reported this week.

It added that Hamas accepted the proposal while Fatah, headed by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, is still thinking about it.

A meeting hosted by Russia would solve the thorny problem of where Fatah and Hamas officials could meet without one side feeling the other has a home advantage.

Russia for years has been trying to play the heavy-weight in the Middle East to counter American influence, which is eroding.

Moscow always plays on both sides of the fence, It is one of the P5+1 countries trying to convince Iran to accept terms to supervise its nuclear development, but it also is building nuclear reactors for the Islamic Republic,

Russia's trade with Israel amounts to $4.6 billion, but it also has generously armed the Palestinian Authority with weapons and material, such as armored personnel carriers.