They had planned to work on the possibility of early elections in the Palestinian Authority if the feuding Hamas and Fatah terror groups cannot agree on forming a coalition.
"We say either a (unity) government or elections," Abbas said after a meeting with European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana. However, he added, "Elections doesn't mean we want to throw Hamas into the sea. Hamas has been elected and can be elected again. Welcome, then. But we are living in a crisis, and we all saw that the only solution is the government. But if the government is not formed, we have to ask the people."
Abbas met with Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier in the day, and Abbas's aide Saeb Erekat downplayed the significance of a meeting with Masha'al. "The purpose of this visit is for Chairman Abbas to meet with President Assad, though I'm not excluding the possibility of Chairman Abbas meeting with Mr. Masha'al and other Palestinian leaders in Damascus," he told reporters.
The PA leader, who heads the Fatah faction, has been pushing Hamas for months to form a coalition government of independent experts, based on the Prisoner's Document, authored by arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti, in an Israeli prison for killing more than 30 Jews.
Abbas came to Damascus bolstered by Israel's release of $100 million which Israel had collected as taxes on behalf of the PA government. Israel had frozen the funds following Hamas' election victory last year. It later explained the money would bypass the Hamas-controlled finance ministry and be routed to Abbas for humanitarian purposes and to strengthen Abbas' security forces, which are on the front lines against Hamas.
Erekat welcomed the payment but said it still only represented about 25 percent of the frozen funds. "We need it badly, and we consider this a step in the right direction, hoping that the whole lot of money withheld will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority," he said.
Abbas was greeted at the Damascus airport by Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and then went to the presidential palace for talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Syria's official news agency said Assad stressed the "necessity for the Palestinian people at this critical stage to reject internal fighting and strengthen their national unity."
"We say either a (unity) government or elections," Abbas said after a meeting with European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana. However, he added, "Elections doesn't mean we want to throw Hamas into the sea. Hamas has been elected and can be elected again. Welcome, then. But we are living in a crisis, and we all saw that the only solution is the government. But if the government is not formed, we have to ask the people."
Abbas met with Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier in the day, and Abbas's aide Saeb Erekat downplayed the significance of a meeting with Masha'al. "The purpose of this visit is for Chairman Abbas to meet with President Assad, though I'm not excluding the possibility of Chairman Abbas meeting with Mr. Masha'al and other Palestinian leaders in Damascus," he told reporters.
The PA leader, who heads the Fatah faction, has been pushing Hamas for months to form a coalition government of independent experts, based on the Prisoner's Document, authored by arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti, in an Israeli prison for killing more than 30 Jews.
Abbas came to Damascus bolstered by Israel's release of $100 million which Israel had collected as taxes on behalf of the PA government. Israel had frozen the funds following Hamas' election victory last year. It later explained the money would bypass the Hamas-controlled finance ministry and be routed to Abbas for humanitarian purposes and to strengthen Abbas' security forces, which are on the front lines against Hamas.
Erekat welcomed the payment but said it still only represented about 25 percent of the frozen funds. "We need it badly, and we consider this a step in the right direction, hoping that the whole lot of money withheld will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority," he said.
Abbas was greeted at the Damascus airport by Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and then went to the presidential palace for talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Syria's official news agency said Assad stressed the "necessity for the Palestinian people at this critical stage to reject internal fighting and strengthen their national unity."