JERUSALEM, May 8 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been negotiating through secret channels in addition to recent publicly known meetings, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The Haaretz daily quoted unidentified Israeli cabinet ministers and other politicians as saying Olmert had given them the impression he expected "significant political progress", apparently through the secret talks, in the coming months.

Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Olmert, said: "I don't know anything about back channel talks." Hassan Asfour, a Palestinian negotiator close to Abbas, said: "I confirm there are no secret talks and no back channel talks."

Haaretz said the participants in the secret talks and the content were not known but that the discussions had apparently gone beyond confidence-building measures and had covered some core political issues.

Olmert and Abbas have held several public meetings at the urging of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. According to statements, the talks have focused on confidence-building measures.

But U.S. officials said last month there were expectations the two sides may begin to discuss final status or core issues soon.

The Haaretz report was published as Olmert was fighting for his political future after an official commission's report last week faulted his handling of a war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon last year.

A significant development in peace efforts with the Palestinians could help Olmert fend off calls for his resignation.

(Additional reporting by Adam Entous in Jerusalem and Wafa Amr in Ramallah)

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