She said Mr Olmert has set no conditions for the talks but said the Palestinians have demanded the release of some of the thousands of Palestinians prisoners held by Israel. But a chief Palestinian negotiator denied that, saying Mr Abbas had no conditions for talks.
"President Abbas stands fully ready to meet with Mr. Olmert. If the Israea spokesman said.
Mr Olmert began making public overtures for talks last week after shelving his plan to carry out a large-scale, unilateral pullback from parts of the West Bank. He stated his willingness to meet with Mr Abbas after meeting with Tony Blair yesterday.
Territorial concessions, such as Israel's unilateral pullout from the Gaza Strip last summer, fell out of favor with many Israelis after the recent conflict against Hizbullah in Lebanon.
Israel is pursuing talks with Mr Abbas because it is boycotting the Palestinians' Hamas-led Cabinet, which took power in March. Hamas doesn't recognize Israel and has refused to renounce violence against it. Mr Blair has refused to meet with members of the Hamas government, including with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas met in June at an informal gathering in Jordan, but didn't talk privately. The two men pledged at the time to meet again within weeks, but those plans collapsed days later when Palestinian militants killed two soldiers and captured a third in a cross-border raid.