By Xinhua
Jerusalem : The meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas ended on Monday evening in Jerusalem with what the Israeli side called “positive” results.
David Baker, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister’s office, told Xinhua that the meeting was positive, and the two sides made some progress in certain elements regarding the joint statement during their two-hour long discussions.
The spokesman, however, didn’t reveal the details about the so-called progress.
He added that the negotiation teams of the two sides will hold another meeting tonight, and Olmert is looking forward to meeting Abbas again at the Annapolis summit.
The just-finished meeting is the last one between the two leaders ahead of the U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace summit initially scheduled for late November in Annapolis, Maryland.
Negotiation teams of Israel and the PNA are currently preparing a joint statement which will be presented at the summit in Annapolis. But both sides have said that the negotiations were once again in stalemate.
Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoted a senior Israeli diplomat as saying on Sunday that, “at present time, we don’t have a joint statement or even a draft for one.”
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat also said earlier on Monday that the two sides have not yet agreed on a joint document, adding that differences involve “terms and concepts.”
Erekat had said Abbas and Olmert would try to bridge gaps between the two sides during their meeting.