Russian President Vladimir Putin today planned to bring to Israeli leaders his proposal to host a Middle East peace conference in Moscow.
Mr Putin's overture, on the first visit to Israel by a Kremlin leader, won immediate backing from the Palestinians. They said such a meeting would help prepare for statehood talks they hoped to hold after Israel's planned Gaza pullout this summer.
But the United States has rejected the idea.
"I intend to discuss this idea with my other colleagues who are interested in moving the peace process forward in the Middle East," Mr Putin said in Egypt before arriving in Israel.
Mr Putin's resolve to press ahead with the proposal is part of his wider plan to revive Moscow's Cold-War influence in the Middle East - a status Russia lost after the Soviet collapse. He said he would raise the offer with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon later in the day.
Their meeting was also likely to focus on Israel's opposition to Moscow's help for Iran's nuclear programme and anti-aircraft missile sale to Syria.
Mr Sharon fears the missiles for Syria could end up in the hands of anti-Israeli militants, despite Mr Putin's assurances to the contrary.
A senior Israel official said Israel was wary about Mr Putin's peace conference proposal but "not against it in principle".
Mr Sharon has said peacemaking envisaged by a Middle East "road map" promoted by the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations would be on hold until the Palestinians dismantled militant groups in accordance with the plan.
Washington, which has taken the leading role in the "quartet" of road map sponsors, said Mr Putin's idea was premature.