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Olmert hopeful of peace process

Landmark West Asia summit to get under way in Egypt

Cairo/JERUSALEM: A landmark four-way West Asia summit was to get underway in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh late on Monday between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan.

The summit is the first such meeting since Mr. Abbas dissolved the Hamas-led Palestinian Cabinet in the wake of the Islamist movement’s forcible takeover of the Gaza Strip, appointing an interim government headed by independent lawmaker Salam Fayyad.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed the hope in Jerusalem that the summit would pave the way for movement in the peace process. Mr. Olmert told German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a telephone conversation ahead of his departure that he hoped the summit would create “the conditions conducive to the advancement of the diplomatic process,” a statement from his office in Jerusalem said. The Israeli leader also said he would resume regular meetings with Mr. Abbas after the summit, a German government spokesman in Berlin said.

According to Egyptian state newspaper Al-Ahram, the summit is expected to be a show of support for Mr. Abbas’ emergency government and the Palestinian Authority. Mr. Mubarak called the summit in the wake of the recent dramatic developments in Gaza.

The Fayyad Government contains no representatives from Hamas, which won the January 2006 legislative elections in the Palestinian Territories. — AP, DPA

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