Saudis to attend Sellout-of-Palestine Talks with U.S.
The Saudi foreign minister indicated Wednesday that his country may attend a so-called "Middle East peace talks" conference proposed by U.S. President George W. Bush, which is set to take place in the fall.
"When we get an invitation from the minister [U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice] to attend, when this takes place, we will study it and we will be keen to attend," Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said at a press conference with Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
"We are interested in the peace conference, one that deals with the heart of the peace process, the issues of peace, the core issues, not one that is just a podium for meetings and talk that do not enrich peace," he said.
Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic relations with 'Israel', and a conference attended by both countries would be hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough.
A source in 'Jerusalem' told Israeli daily Haaretz that the believed that the Saudi decision to attend the meeting was sparked by the U.S. government's announcement of a $20 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia over the weekend, and the fact that 'Israel' did not publicly object to the deal.
On Tuesday, Israeli government sources said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was planning to ask Rice during her visit to the Palestinian occupied territories on Wednesday afternoon, to include Saudi Arabia in the international peace conference.
Rice's visit to 'Jerusalem' will be the last stop on her tour of the region. Rice, accompanied by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, met with Arab league representatives in Egypt on Tuesday. Later Tuesday, the two officials visited Saudi Arabia and met with King Abdullah.
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