Chief Palestinian negotiator, Sae’b Eriqat, stated Saturday that the agenda of President Abbas’s meeting on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, will be an open one, dealing with a variety of issues.
Eriqat stressed that President Abbas will focus his talks on exploring possibilities to implement the two-state solution, envisioned by President Bush in 2002 in accordance with the road map peace blueprint and the latest Arab peace proposal the Arab states re-endorsed in their summit meeting late on March.
The Palestinian top negotiator affirmed that such a meeting is a part of a series of meetings agreed upon by U.S Secretary of States, Condoleezza Rice, President Abbas and PM Olmert, so that both Palestinians and Israelis can reach a compromise.
Eriqat, also senior aid to President Abbas, pointed out that the prisoner swap deal offered by the Palestinians in exchange for the release of captured Israeli soldier Gila’ad Shalit will be discussed during the meeting in light of underway contacts with the Egyptian mediators.
In the meantime, Egur Evanov, Russia’s national security advisor expressed his hope that the Sunday meeting between Abbas and Olmert will focus on contentious final settlement issues that would help advance peace talks with Israel.
In her fourth Middle East diplomacy visit to the region last month, U.S Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, urged Palestinians and Israelis to establish a ‘common agenda’ to push their peace talks forward and called on both President Abbas and PM Olmert to meet on bi-weekly basis.
