MOSCOW, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Moscow hails the setting up of a coalition government in the Palestinian Territories, Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said Thursday night.

    "Beyond any doubt, that's a crucial event from the angle of view of Palestinians' consolidation and it became possible after the major political forces in Palestine, Fatah and Hamas reached agreement in Mecca on February 8," Kamynin was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

    "We hope that the common Palestinian government that has been formed and its activities will become a key factor in normalizing the situation in the Palestinian territories and ending the discord and chaos there," he said.

    Russia's position is that "the new Cabinet, which has been created based on the political platform of the Mecca agreements and is governed by the known criteria of the Quartet, will open up opportunities to develop constructive interaction between all structures of the Palestinian Authority and the international community," the spokesman said.

    The Russian authorities also hope that it will create "prospects for sustainable and substantive Palestinian-Israeli dialogue, the ultimate goal of which would be the establishment of a sovereign and viable Palestinian state, which will live side by side with Israel in peace and security," he said.

    "Acting both through the Quartet and bilateral contacts, Russia plans to make an energetic contribution to that," Kamynin said.

    Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haneya announced on Thursday that a coalition government of the Palestinian Authority had been formed. It consists of representatives of the Fatah and Hamas movements, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, other parliamentary factions and independent politicians.

    Under the main Palestinian law, the Palestinian Legislative Council must confirm the new Cabinet within the next few days.