Sharon Arrives in London for Talks on Mideast Peace

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, July 14, 2003

Sharon Arrives in London for Talks on Mideast Peace

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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrived in London Sunday on a three-day visit, during which he was expected to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw for talks aimed at pushing forward the peace process in the Middle East.

Following the publication of the roadmap and the important progress that had been made, Sharon's visit was "a chance to take stock and discuss whether there was anything further we could do to help move the process forward," Blair's official spokesman toldreporters Friday.

The visit of Sharon, who was set to meet with Blair on Monday evening for a private dinner at Downing Street, comes amid deadlock in efforts to implement the "roadmap" peace plan, which aims to end 33 months of Palestinian-Israeli violence and lead to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

Local reports said during his meeting with Sharon, Blair, who has been keen on seeing progress on the US-backed roadmap Sharon, was expected to focus on the dismantling of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the continuing construction of a security fence separating Israel from Palestinian areas.

The private meeting between Blair and Sharon would also includediscussions of bilateral issues and the deaths of two Britons who were shot in the occupied territories by Israeli troops.

London has been pressing for a transparent inquiry into the incidents.

Sharon, who would travel on to Norway on Wednesday, was also tomeet with Straw on Monday to discuss the implementation of the roadmap peace plan, a spokesman for the Downing Street said.

During his stay in London, Sharon would also meet with British opposition Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and local Jewish leaders.

Sharon's visit to London, the first since June last year, was also seen as a chance to heal strained Israeli-British relations.

"The expectations is that the trip will give a new impetus to relations between Israel and Britain which...to the regret of bothsides, have experienced some grating misunderstandings in recent months," earlier Israeli reports quoted Israeli Ambassador to Britain Zvi Stauber as saying.

Relations between Britain and Israel first turned sour last October after Straw upset Sharon by openly taking the Palestinian side while on a visit to Iran.

Further upset was caused in January after Blair arranged talks with leading Palestinians and other regional players in London on Palestinian reform without inviting Israel, which responded by preventing Palestinian delegates from traveling to the meeting.

Sharon was aggrieved when Blair refused to meet with then-Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the Israeli elections in January.

Ties between the two countries hit a new low following a suicide bombing by a man with a British passport in April.

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