MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. Russian Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov spoke by phone with Fatah Central Committee member Azzam al-Ahmad and senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk, to discuss preparations for an intra-Palestinian meeting in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The attention was on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with a focus on the growing humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip," the ministry reported.

The parties also "thoroughly exchanged views on issues related to the preparations for and holding of the intra-Palestinian meeting scheduled for late February - early March in Moscow," the ministry informed. Russia "confirmed its unwavering fundamental position in support of Palestinian unity on the political platform of the Palestine Liberation Organization," the Foreign Ministry went on to say.

The phone call was initiated by the Palestinian side.