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Peres to Meet Arafat Next Week
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Thursday night that he will meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat next week, part of his drive to end nearly a year of deadly fighting between Israelis and Palestinians.
In the Mideast, Palestinian International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath said efforts were under way to arrange the talks. ``Until this moment, no time and no date and no place for such a meeting has been set.''
Peres made the announcement as he arrived in Cernobbio, a lakeside retreat in northern Italy.
Asked by reporters when he would meet with Arafat, Peres replied: ``It will be next week. Probably we'll have three different meetings, one after the other.''
Peres did not specify which date or just where he would begin his meeting with Arafat, saying only that it would take place in ``the region,'' meaning the Middle East.
Peres said he had met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon earlier in the day and that Sharon supported his efforts, going on now for two weeks now, to hold talks with Arafat.
Peres came to northern Italy to attend an annual seminar in Cernobbio, about an hour's drive from Milan, involving politicians, economists and other noted figures.
Arafat was also invited to the three-day Cernobbio seminar, but organizers said they hadn't heard if he would come.
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