SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt offered broad support on Tuesday for peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in the United States next week but again pressed for a firm timetable for setting up a Palestinian state.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak endorsed the meeting at a joint news conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is looking for wide Arab participation in the Annapolis conference called by U.S. President George W. Bush.
"I look forward to it (the conference) leading to the launching of serious peace negotiations which deal with all final status issues in a defined timeframe and according to an agreed follow-up mechanism," Mubarak said.
"I look forward to constructive positions from Prime Minister Olmert, which would contribute to ... making the coming meeting a success," he added.
Mubarak did not confirm definitively that Egypt will send a delegation to Annapolis or will encourage other Arab governments to take part in the meeting.
Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Cairo on Friday to take a common position on the peace conference. Some Arab countries might not attend unless they see more progress in preparatory Israeli-Palestinian talks, diplomats say.
But Egypt and Jordan, the two Arab countries which have signed peace treaties with the Jewish state, are expected to go to Annapolis, probably at the level of foreign ministers.
On Monday, Olmert made a bid for wide Arab support for the conference by agreeing to release 441 Palestinian prisoners and reaffirming a pledge not to build new Jewish settlements.
But Olmert, speaking before a two-hour meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, did not say whether he would agree to U.S. and Palestinian demands to halt all construction in existing settlements in the occupied West Bank.
