President Vladimir Putin arrived in the West Bank today on the first visit by a Russian leader.
In talks with Palestinians intended to help revive Moscow's Cold War-era regional influence, Mr Putin was expected to discuss helping President Mahmoud Abbas strengthen his security forces.
Palestinians said Russia, which has dropped a proposal to host a peace conference after US and Israeli objections, is offering armoured vehicles and helicopters. Israel has already voiced concern about that.
The West Bank is the last stop of a Middle East tour that also took Mr Putin to Egypt and Israel.
Mr Putin will offer 50 armoured vehicles and two transport helicopters for Palestinian security forces, battered during a four-and-a-half-year uprising,
Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Shaath said. "This will be coordinated with Israel because Israel controls our borders," he said.
But senior Israeli officials said any such offer would be unacceptable to the Jewish state, where Mr Putin tried yesterday to allay concerns over Russia's planned arms sales to neighbouring Syria and help for Iran's nuclear programme.
Russia - alongside the United States, the United Nations and European Union - forms the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators. Moscow has proposed various ways of speeding up the Middle East peace process and has often criticised Israel's handling of the Palestinian uprising.
Moscow's peacemaking proposals have met with little sympathy in Israel, which is happy to keep Washington as the main power broker in the region.
Russia dropped a plan to hold a peace conference in Moscow after it was criticised by Israel and the United States as premature. The plan had received immediate backing from the Palestinians.