DAMASCUS, Jan 21: Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal began talks in Damascus late on Sunday in a bid to end an often violent power struggle and to form a government of national unity.

The meeting was also attended by Mussa Abu Marzuk, a senior Hamas official based in Damascus, as well as chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat who accompanied Abbas to the Syrian capital.

The talks are seen as key to resolving the long-running feud between Abbas's Fatah party and the ruling Hamas which erupted into tit-for-tat violence in December that killed 30 people.

The meeting had been in doubt with Marzuk earlier saying it would not be taking place “because there is no understanding on a political formula proposed to the two sides.” Abbas arrived in Damascus on Saturday to try to hammer out a resolution to the political crisis and has held talks with President Bashar al-Assad and Vice-President Faruq al-Shara, as well as leaders of militant groups in Damascus.

Meshaal, one of Israel's most wanted men who lives in exile in Syria, is regarded as key to any deal. Mustafa Barghuti, an independent Palestinian MP who was in Damascus for the talks, said some issues had been resolved but key questions remained outstanding.

“They've resolved many problems. There is still one problem — the political programme for the government,” he said on his return to Ramallah. He said Abbas wants a unity government to “commit to” all agreements with Israel, while the Hamas is insisting it simply “respect” past agreements.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also said in a statement from Gaza that Hamas, Fatah and other Palestinian factions would meet on Tuesday to resume talks over the unity government.

Last month's clashes between the rival factions erupted after Abbas called for early elections as a way of resolving the standoff with the Hamas, which vehemently rejected the move as an attempted coup and warned it could set off a civil war.

On Saturday, Syria affirmed its commitment to Palestinian unity when Assad met Abbas.Abbas's spokesman said Assad had told Abbas that he was “attached to Palestinian national unity and ready to support anything that could help reinforce it.” —AFP