Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat Tuesday announced that there are contacts to arrange a meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
"There are contacts between the Palestinian National Authority and Israel to arrange a meeting between the two men, but there is not date yet has been agreed upon," Erekat told the radio Voice of Palestine, adding that "the meeting won't be held on Friday."
The PNA Minister of Foreign Affairs Reyad el-Maliki has earlier announced that Abbas and Olmert will meet in Jerusalem on Friday to continue their talks on the permanent status issues.
If a meeting is arranged, it will be the last meeting between the two leaders, because newly-elected chief of Kadima party TzipiLivni will form a new government in Israel and she is likely to be the new Israeli prime minister.
Erekat expected that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be visiting in the region right after Livni forms the new government in Israel "to give the peace talks another push forward."
Meanwhile, Erekat described the last visit of Palestinian President Abbas to Syria and his talks with Syrian President Bashar el-Assad "was very positive and focused on mutual cooperation and consulting concerning the peace talks with Israel."
"If any peace compromise is reached with Israel, the Arab peace initiative, which calls for a full Israeli withdrawal from all the Arab occupied territories, to be fully implemented," said Erekat.
Source: Xinhua
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