Moscow: Khaled Meshaal, the leader of the radical Palestinian group Hamas, here said he saw no prospect whatsoever in peace talks in the Middle East as Israel is led by warmongers.

"I do not expect any progress in peace talks on the Palestinian, Syrian or any other direction of the Middle East settlement as the Israeli leadership is the leadership of war, aggression and occupation, rather than a leadership taking a stand for peace," Meshaal said at a press conference.

Meshaal also said talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas were not a top priority for Hamas in inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

Meshaal also said talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas were not a top priority for Hamas in inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

"The primary goal is to reach inter-Palestinian reconciliation, not to meet with Abbas. A meeting is not that important... The primary objective is to forge reconciliation," he said.

He said Hamas will sign the Cairo reconciliation deal, which Egypt put forward in early September 2009, only after it is amended according to previously reached agreements.

The two largest Palestinian factions split in June 2007 when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip and pushed the ruling Fatah movement out of the enclave. The six previous rounds of reconciliation talks resulted in failure.

The dates of parliamentary and presidential elections are a major stumbling block in reconciliation efforts. Fatah plans to hold both polls in June 2010, while Hamas argues that the presidential polls should be held earlier as the presidential term of Abbas expired in January.

Meshaal denied that his visit to Moscow is linked to the recent trip by Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is expected in Russia later this month.

"There is no connection between these visits," he said.