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Report: Olmert met secretly with Saudi

By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 25, 6:57 AM ET

JERUSALEM - An Israeli newspaper reported Monday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert secretly met with a senior Saudi Arabian official to discuss Iran's nuclear program and peace between
Israel and the Palestinians.

Olmert later told the Web site of the daily, Yediot Ahronot, that he didn't hold talks with Saudi King Abdullah, but he did not deny meeting with a high-ranking Saudi.

"I did not meet with the Saudi king and I did not meet with anyone who should cause a media stir," Olmert said. The Web site, Ynet, said its interview with Olmert would be published in full later Monday.

Israel dismissed a possible overture from
Syria, meanwhile, saying Damascus must first stop sponsoring militant organizations if it wants to talk peace.

In Saudi Arabia, the Foreign Ministry said no one was immediately available to comment on the report.

Since Israel's war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon ended last month, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria have been calling for a new push in peacemaking to prevent future conflicts.

The Yediot report quoted an unspecified number of anonymous Israeli officials as saying that Olmert met with King Abdullah 10 days ago. It described other officials as hinting that the talks were with a senior official close to the king. None of the officials disclosed the location of the purported meeting, or details of what supposedly was said, the paper reported.

The Israeli daily Haaretz later reported that the meeting took place on Sept. 13, and Israel's Army Radio said the talks were held in the royal palace in Riyadh.

A senior Israeli government official told The Associated Press that Olmert did not meet with Abdullah, but would not confirm or deny that Olmert met with another high-ranking Saudi. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the matter.

"The prime minister was impressed by the moderate, positive stands that the Saudis expressed during the summer when Israel was fighting Hezbollah," the official said.

Saudi Arabia, which has no diplomatic ties with Israel, has been trying to revive a regional peace initiative it presented in 2002. Israel rejected the plan at the time, but Olmert has indicated he might be more open than his predecessor,
Ariel Sharon.

Yediot first reported last week that Israel and Saudi Arabia had been holding secret talks since fighting erupted in July between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

When asked by Yediot last week if Israel had secret contacts with Saudi Arabia, Olmert said: "I do not have to answer every question."

Saudi Arabia 's peace initiative called for a full Israeli withdrawal from lands it captured in the 1967 Mideast war in exchange for normalization and relations with all Arab countries. It was rejected by Sharon outright but Olmert struck a different tone in the interview with Yediot last week.

"I am very impressed with different processes and statements that are connected to Saudi Arabia, some that have been stated publicly and others as well. I am very impressed with King Abdullah's wisdom and sense of responsibility," Olmert was quoted as saying.

The Yediot report comes amid signals from Syrian President Bashar Assad that he might consider renewing peace talks with Israel.

"I don't say that Israel should be wiped off the map. We want to make peace — peace with Israel," Assad was quoted as saying in an interview to the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel, which was released over the weekend.

Israel rejected the overture, saying Assad had to stop supplying arms to Hezbollah and sponsoring Palestinian militants allied with the ruling Hamas party before peace talks would be possible.

"He has to decide, yes or no, either he's going with terror and hosting terrorists, or he's a man of peace who wants to make peace," Israeli Cabinet minister Shimon Peres told Israel Radio.

The last round of Israeli-Syria peace talks broke down in 2000. Israel went to great lengths to keep Syria out of the conflict in Lebanon, apparently to avoid opening another front or closing future peace options.

Efforts to moderate Hamas' political platform, meanwhile, appeared to be foundering. Earlier in the month, the Islamic militant group agreed to form a coalition government with the more moderate
Fatah Party led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, hoping that would ease tough international sanctions.

But the militant Islamic group has given no indication that it would compromise on recognizing Israel — a key international condition for lifting the sanctions.

The coalition deal was vague on the recognition of Israel, and both sides have since offered different interpretations.

Abbas warned over the weekend that coalition talks were going nowhere because of Hamas' hard-line stand. Talks between the two sides are to resume on Tuesday.

Report: Olmert met secretly with Saudi (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060925/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_saudi_arabia;_ylt=Anjrw1UOlWf7gScORSMyU90LewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--)