The killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was intended to prolong the Gaza conflict, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told RIA agency in remarks published on Tuesday, adding he will discuss the crisis with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Reuters reports.

Abbas said that he considers Haniyeh’s assassination, “a cowardly act and a dangerous development in Israeli politics”.

“There is no doubt that the purpose of Mr Haniyeh’s assassination is to prolong the war and expand its scope,” Abbas told Russia’s state RIA news agency in an interview.

“It will have a negative impact on the ongoing negotiations to end the aggression and withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza,” Abbas said in remarks published in Russian by the RIA agency and translated by Reuters.

Abbas told RIA in the interview that he plans to discuss the peace process in the region with Putin.

“We constantly exchange opinions with the President of Russia, consult on all the most important issues in order to advance the peace process, as well as strengthen bilateral and regional relations,” RIA cited Abbas as saying.