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The Palestinian accord was to be on the agenda of EU foreign ministers talks on Monday in Brussels.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said an evaluation has to wait until a coalition government with a tangible programme has been formed, but said “no peace can be supported by a Palestinian civil war.”

Moscow gave no immediate reaction to the Palestinian deal brokered by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah in the city of Mecca.

Hamas said at talks in Saudi Arabia that it would “respect” past peace deals with Israel as part of the power-sharing accord with the more moderate Fatah movement – appearing to concede in part to a key international demand that the militants recognise Israel.

EU diplomats and officials said they were keen to know exactly what Hamas means with the word “respect”.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said inclusion of the term in reference to Israel “is a step in the right direction toward full adherence to the demands of the international community that we hold dear, including in particular the recognition of Israel.”

The EU, US and UN have frozen about $1bn a year in aid to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority.

Instead, international donors have been sending some $909m a year to the Palestinians through the World Bank-monitored aid programme that bypasses the Hamas-led government.