Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas sought on Thursday to secure a billion-dollar Gaza energy deal during talks with Russian leaders aimed at restoring warmer ties between the two Soviet-era allies.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas sought on Thursday to secure a billion-dollar Gaza energy deal during talks with Russian leaders aimed at restoring warmer ties between the two Soviet-era allies.

Abbas and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were due to sign an intergovernmental agreement that reports said included a $1.0-billion (730-million-euro) natural gas project in the Gaza section of the Mediterranean Sea.

The state ITAR-TASS news agency said Russia's natural gas giant Gazprom hoped to produce 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas at the site.

Moscow has been a close Palestinian ally since the Soviet era. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also called for the establishment of east Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.

Abbas began his Moscow visit by holding talks with Putin at which he called Russia a "great power" that deserved to play a more prominent role the volatile Middle East region.

Abbas was also due on Friday to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.