Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal agreed yesterday to make stopping violence between Palestinian factions their priority and to continue talks on forming a unity government.
Speaking after three hours of talks in the Syrian capital, Mr Abbas said their meeting had been "fruitful" and "we agreed that the utmost priority is that there should be no spilling of Palestinian blood".
A power struggle between Hamas, which won Palestinian elections last year, and Mr Abbas's long-dominant Fatah faction has led to violence in Gaza and the West Bank after efforts to form a unity government broke down and Mr Abbas called for elections.
Islamist Hamas has struggled to govern under the weight of US-led sanctions imposed because of its refusal to recognise Israel, renounce violence and abide by interim peace deals.
Mr Abbas hopes a unity government will get sanctions lifted, but Hamas has resisted some of the conditions.
"We will continue our meetings and dialogue in the near future to reach an agreement that ends the siege on the Palestinian people," Mr Abbas said.
A statement said the talks on a unity government will continue in two weeks.