Abbas to meet Bush in Washington

21/07/2003| IslamWeb

The pace of Middle East peacemaking is picking up in a new round of diplomacy, most significantly a planned meeting between Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and US President George Bush. It will be Abbas' first talks in Washington although he met Bush at a Middle East summit in Jordan last month. Bush is likely to urge Abbas to follow-up on commitments to crackdown on intifadha and Islamic groups. The difficulty of that task was demonstrated in a rally in the West Bank where an offshoot of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah group warned of breaking a current truce. It has also been reported that Abbas will have talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon next Sunday. However Palestinian officials have denied the claim attributed to Israeli sources. It is expected that Sharon will be meeting Bush at the White House a few days after Abbas' visit on July 25. Sharon was given a mixed reception in Norway - his last stop on a visit to Europe to try to convince leaders there to end contacts with Arafat. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Ariel Sharon (R) and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas talk during their meeting in Jerusalem (AFP/Pedro Ugarte)