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Abbas and Olmert will discuss drafting a "joint declaration" before the conference

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas affirmed yesterday that he insists on going to the international conference proposed by the United States in November carrying with him a document that includes all final solution issues. Abbas told reporters after his meeting with Egyptian President Mubarak: There is a need for a very clear agenda; there will be many participants; more than 36 countries will attend the conference. Therefore, such a big gathering requires that we go there carrying with us a very specific document, later detailed negotiations can start on what we call the final solution issues. When asked to comment on the statements of Israeli FM Livni on the need to deal with realism, he said: realism means to talk about the final status issues; or else, what is the meaning of realism. Does it mean to go there with a general statement; I believe this will not be useful. We want a successful conference that deals with the final status issues. Abbas affirmed that he will discuss with Israeli PM Olmert during their meeting next Wednesday (postponed from Tuesday) the final status issues which are Jerusalem, the settlements, the refugees, the security and the water. He continued: I have met with Olmert so far five times, and so far we cannot say that we held negotiations; we explored these matters. The Israeli-Palestinian delegations formed recently will start their work as of tomorrow, Tuesday. Abbas said his talks with President Mubarak aim to coordinate Arab and Palestinian positions on the talks to be held with Israeli PM Olmert on the international conference.

Abbas arrived yesterday afternoon in Amman coming from Cairo. He is expected to meet with Jordanian King Abdullah II today before returning to the homeland.

In the meantime, an Israeli official said yesterday that PM Olmert and President Abbas will meet in Jerusalem in an attempt to draft a joint declaration to precede the international conference. Both leaders disagree on the declaration. President Abbas wants a very clear and specific declaration on the final status of the Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank while Olmert wants a more ambiguous and non-binding declaration.

Published at Al Ayyam NewsPaper on October 1, 2007