Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his ministers on Sunday that an upcoming U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference would not replace direct negotiations with the Palestinians. According to the AP, he added his talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have produced no agreements so far.
At the start of Sunday's regularly scheduled Cabinet meeting, Olmert told ministers that his talks with Abbas have been "mostly brainstorming and an attempt to understand the other's viewpoint." "There have been no agreements or deals," he said.
While the international conference is designed to promote peacemaking, "it will in no way replace direct negotiations with the Palestinians," Olmert said.
The U.S. has not yet set a date for the meeting or announced a list of participants. Participation by leading Arab countries is considered key to the conference's success. So far, regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries without diplomatic ties with Israel have been reluctant to commit.
Olmert also told his Cabinet that any solution would be based on the U.S.-backed road map peace plan, a program that foundered shortly after it was presented in 2003, the Haaretz newspaper said. Both sides failed to carry out initial obligations under the three-phase plan, with Israel continuing to build in West Bank settlements and the Palestinians failing to disarm resistance groups.
