CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday supported holding a Middle East peace conference in Moscow, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said.
At a press conference with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Aboul Gheit said Mubarak and Lavrov discussed "convening a ministerial meeting in Moscow that would include all parties in the peace process."
Mubarak "strongly affirmed the idea of holding this meeting," Aboul Gheit said, without elaborating on who might attend.
Russia maintains political contacts with Hamas, whose government in the Gaza Strip is not recognized by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Western countries. Israel, the European Union and the United States list it as a terrorist group.
Russia, a member of the Middle East Quartet along with the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, has pushed for such a conference.
Lavrov told reporters "Russia will continue its efforts towards peace" in the Middle East.
In March, during a meeting in Moscow, the Quartet called for a peace agreement within 24 months, leading to a two-state solution.
On Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he did "not see any chance of a Palestinian state arising by 2012."
