Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's aides have said that his Monday meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is not specifically aimed at producing results for a U.S.-proposed international conference on Mideast peace, local Ha'aretz reported Sunday.
Olmert's aides were quoted as saying that "both Palestinians and Israelis are taking it slow. The two parties understand that it will take some time before understandings are achieved."
They Israeli officials made the comments as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch had urged Olmert and Abbas to produce tangible results during their Monday summit meeting in order to be well prepared for the U.S.-proposed conference, according to the report.
Welch made the call during his visit to Israel last week, who was in the region to prepare for a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice scheduled to begin later this month.
According to a senior Israeli government source, the Olmert- Abbas Monday meeting "will determine whether conditions are right for broadening the scope of negotiations, and for work on the agreement of principles."
U.S. President George W. Bush has called for an international conference on Mideast peace later this year in order to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian talks, which is widely expected to be held in November.
Source: Xinhua
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