Sharon willing to talk with Palestinians

Sharon, speaking Thursday at an economic forum in Tel Aviv, said he believes "we are on the verge of a new opportunity to bring about quiet and peace."

Sharon blamed Palestinian reluctance for the absence of a top-level dialogue between the two sides.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

"The reason we don't have prime ministerial level contacts stems from the fact that Palestinians have requested time to allow the designated Palestinian prime minister to establish himself," Sharon said. "We are ready to enter negotiations at any time."

Israel previously indicated it would not talk with the new Palestinian government led by Ahmed Qureia because that Cabinet was too closely associated with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

The implementation of the "road map" peace plan, which was drafted by the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union and presented in June, has bogged down in violence and efforts to form a stable Palestinian government.

Sharon's comments came a day after Qureia said he has a two-stage strategy for achieving a cease-fire ending three years of Middle East violence. Qureia wants to first negotiate a truce with Palestinian militants and then ask Israel to sign on.

Any new truce would replace one that collapsed in the summer. On June 29, the main Palestinian militant groups declared a unilateral halt to attacks against Israelis. But six weeks later, there was a new wave of militant suicide bombings and Israeli military operations.

Israel has been cool to the idea of a new truce, demanding instead that the Palestinians crack down on the violent groups and disarm them, as required by the peace plan, which aims at ending violence and creating a Palestinian state by 2005.

Russia, meanwhile, introduced a resolution asking the UN Security Council to endorse the peace plan. But US deputy ambassador James Cunningham said the timing wasn't right, citing the absence of a Palestinian government that can implement the peace plan.