By RIA Novosti
Cairo : The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has set conditions for its participation in an international conference on the Middle East, the Arab as-Shark al-Ausat newspaper said Friday.
The PNA’s conditions for participation in the conference include implementation of the ‘Roadmap for Peace’ plan and an Arab peace initiative.
The Bush administration has proposed holding a conference in the US in November to discuss issues holding back peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and to pave the way for the creation of a unified Palestinian state.
Azam al-Ahmed, the leader of the Fatah parliamentary faction, told the paper that the PNA demands that all parties concerned take part in the conference, primarily Syria and Lebanon, as well as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.
The Palestinian administration also wants a clearly defined agenda for a Middle East forum, as well as guarantees that concrete results will be achieved, specifically implementation of UN resolutions on the Middle East, the Roadmap for Peace plan, and, ultimately, the proclamation of a Palestinian state.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas discussed prospects for a meeting Thursday with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Rice said the US administration would work hard to make a success of the proposed international conference on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and future peace settlement.
Key issues standing in the way of a successful resolution of the six-decade Israeli-Palestinian conflict are the eventual borders between Israel and a newly independent Palestinian state, control over the disputed part of Jerusalem, and the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees.
Abbas said he expected the November meeting to result in the start of serious negotiations on the Arab-Israeli conflict resolution.
“This meeting should give a start to serious negotiations, which will put an end to Israeli occupation of our territories and the territories of Arabian countries, which began in 1967,” Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted Abbas as saying.