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Diplomat: Hamas Willing To Seek "Solution"George Baghdadi is CBS News' reporter in Damascus.
 (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)
leader Khaled Mashaal has for the first time indicated a willingness to
work toward a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, according to Russian
diplomats in the Syrian capital.
Russian diplomats in Damascus tell CBS News that Mashaal, seen at
left in a 2008 file photo, indicated to a senior envoy from Moscow a
"readiness to contribute in reaching a solution to stop the aggression
in Gaza."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday that Israel had
accepted an Egyptian-French cease-fire plan for the Gaza Strip, but
Hamas officials in Syria told CBS News that they could not agree to the plan because it does not guarantee open border crossings or an end to a crippling blockade.
(Click here for the latest on cease-fire negotiations.)
It was the first time Hamas' senior leader had implied a
willingness to order a halt to the rocket attacks that Israel points to
as the justification for their assault on Gaza.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose country holds unique sway
with the Islamic militant group, met Tuesday with Alexander Sultanov,
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's special envoy for Middle Eastern
Affairs.
Diplomatic sources said it was Sultanov who met Mashaal.
The diplomats, who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity due
to the sensitivity of the talks, said, however, that Mashaal also
warned he was not prepared to cooperate until Israel agreed to open the
border-crossings into the besieged Gaza Strip and halt their own
military operations.
 (AP Photo/Eric Feferberg)
said any truce between Israel and Hamas must stop what his country
describes as "war crimes," and lift the blockade on the tiny
Palestinian territory.
Sultanov also held a meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Walid
al-Muallem and to review international and regional endeavors,
including the role that could be played by Russia to stop the Israeli
aggression and withdraw the military forces from the Strip, according
to state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.
Al-Assad and Medvedev spoke on the phone earlier in the week and
the Russian leader decided to send his aide for more talks with the
Syrians.
The Syrian President, after talks with Sarkozy in Damascus on
Tuesday, said a cease-fire was only attainable after Israel stops the
"war crimes" and opens the crossing points to allow the flow of medical
and other aid to the Palestinians.
Sarkozy was in Damascus Tuesday pressing Syria to convince Hamas to halt rocket fire into Israel.
Syria, along with Iran, is a main backer of Hamas and hosts members of the group's exiled leadership, including Mashaal.
6:38 PM
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