Ramallah/Cairo - Senior Egyptian intelligence officials were in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday for separate talks with rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas.

"The Egyptian brothers were here to explore the stances of the factions in order to reach an agreeable reconciliation deal," Ahmed Qureia, the head of Fatah's delegation to the talks, told reporters in Ramallah.

He was speaking after meeting General Mohammed Ibrahim, an aide to Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. Suleiman was in Washington with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak on Tuesday for meetings with US President Barack Obama.

Egyptian intelligence officials have been trying to broker an agreement between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Fatah, which controls Palestinian-administered areas of the West Bank, since March.

Regional and international governments have been pushing for a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Arab states of the region. But without a unified Palestinian government, it remains unclear who would represent Palestinians in talks to arrive at that agreement.

"So far, there is no substantial change in Hamas' position," Qureia said. "But despite Hamas' stubbornness, a final reconciliation agreement to end the current rift will be signed in Cairo on August 25, or perhaps a little bit after."

Ibrahim and his colleagues have spent the past two days shuttling around the region meeting with Hamas and Fatah officials ahead of the resumption of talks in Cairo next week.

On Monday, the Egyptian intelligence officers met with Hamas political leaders in Damascus and with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan.

After meeting with Hamas lawmakers in Ramallah on Tuesday, the delegation is scheduled to return to Damascus for further consultations with Hamas political leaders.

Hamas has repeatedly predicated any deal on the release of some 900 of its members held in West Bank jails. The group says those men are political prisoners. Fatah officials deny the arrests were political, and say the Hamas members face such criminal charges as possessing weapons and money laundering.

Talks have also faltered over whether the national unity government would "respect" or "abide by" previous agreements struck by the Palestine Liberation Organisation. (dpa)