RAMALLAH, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- A senior Palestinian official revealed on
Monday that President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with his U.S. counterpart George
W. Bush in New York mainly on the agenda of a U.S.-sponsored international
conference on Mideast peace due to be held in November.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio that
"Abbas will ask Bush to make the results of the conference capable of being
implemented on the ground" through putting timetables and teams to monitor the
end of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Abbas left the West Bank city Ramallah Sunday for the U.N. General Assembly
meeting in New York where he will meet with Bush. Islamic Hamas movement has
urged Abbas to cancel the meeting.
Erekat hoped Abbas' visit to the U.S. would "boost the Arab Peace
Initiative, the Road Map and the relevant international resolutions, given that
ending the Israeli occupation was the common factor between all these
initiatives."
It was reported that on the sidelines of the 62nd session of the UN General
Assembly, Abbas will also meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British
Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
In addition, the Palestinian leader will also see the foreign ministers of
China, Japan, Finland, Portugal and South Africa as well as some Arab
countries.