Putin, who has sought to boost Russia's Mideast role and held talks with Abbas during a historic visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories just over a year ago, was to host the Palestinian leader at his residence in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. Abbas arrived in Sochi late Sunday, Russian news agencies said.

A Kremlin official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for attribution, said the meeting was taking place at "an extraordinarily complex and crucial moment."

The United States, the European Union and others suspended direct financial aid to the Palestinian government after the Islamic militant group Hamas came to power in January elections.

The cutoff, as well as Israel's refusal to transfer around US$50 million a month in tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians, has plunged the West Bank and Gaza into financial crisis.

The Kremlin official said in a statement that the meeting "will be oriented toward a search for ways to restore dialogue on crucial aspects" of the peace
process, focusing on implementation of the stalled "road map" peace plan endorsed by the Quartet of Mideast negotiators - Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.

The official said Putin and Abbas would also discuss "what Russia could do additionally" to help improve the situation, revive Israeli-Palestinian contacts and encourage the sides to reach agreements on security and other issues.

Aid to the Palestinians will also be a significant topic. The official said that Russia, which transferred US$10 million to an account controlled by Abbas earlier this month, "intends to continue to help the Palestinian Authority in establishing a normal life for the Palestinian people."