Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks on Tuesday morning with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the latest developments of the Palestinian issue, Xinhua reported.
According to the state MENA news agency, the two sides mainly discussed the ongoing Egyptian efforts to consolidate a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Palestinian groups and Israel.
They also tackled the mediation talks brokered by Egypt to heal the inter-Palestinian rift and reach reconciliation among various Palestinian groups, particularly between rival Fatah and Hamas movements.
Egypt has been engaged in intensive talks with Palestinian groups and Israel in a bid to reach a long-term ceasefire in Gaza after the two sides carried out unilateral ceasefire on Jan. 18 that ended a 22-day Israeli attacks against Gaza.
On Monday, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman told Hamas that the mediator wound convey Israel's final reply to a proposed 18-month truce "in the coming few days."
Meanwhile, Egypt also hosted several rounds of talks recently between Fatah and Hamas to pave the way for an inter-Palestinian national unity dialogue set to be held on Feb. 22.
During the talks between Mubarak and Lavrov, the two sides also reviewed Egypt's preparations for holding an international conference on Gaza reconstruction, which was scheduled for March 2.
Lavrov arrived here Monday in a regional tour in the Middle East.