Israeli leader Mr Ariel Sharon expressed readiness today to meet Saudi officials over a Saudi peace initiative that drew praise from US President Bush for its vision of Israeli-Arab normalisation.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Mr Javier Solana, cut short a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories and planned to go to Saudi Arabia tomorrow to discuss Crown Prince Abdullah's surprise peace plan.
The proposal by Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler calls on Arab states to recognise Israel and normalise relations with the Jewish state in return for a full Israeli withdrawal from lands occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.
Any proposal for a total Israeli pullout from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights would face opposition from right-wingers in Israel, where security concerns have mounted alongside violence in a 17-month-old Palestinian uprising that has left more than 1100 people dead.
But after meeting Mr Sharon, Mr Solana told reporters the Israeli leader considered the Saudi proposal an interesting idea .
He said Mr Sharon would like to know more about the content and he would be ready to meet anybody from Saudi Arabia, formally, informally, publicly, discreetly, whatever, to get better information about this initiative .
Mr Raanan Gissin, a Sharon spokesman, said the prime minister was always ready to meet with any Arab leader interested in advancing peace. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, who Mr Sharon accuses of fostering anti-Israeli attacks and refuses to meet, said he appreciated and supported completely Abdullah's efforts.
Washington appeared to be warming to the Saudi initiative. A White House spokesman said US President Bush spoke with the crown prince about it tomorrow.
The president praised the crown prince's ideas regarding the full Arab-Israeli normalisation once a comprehensive peace agreement has been reached, spokesman Mr Ari Fleischer said.
Numerous international efforts, including a US-backed truce-to-talks plan, have failed to stem bloodshed in which 892 Palestinians and 277 Israelis have been killed since September 2000, when the uprising against Israeli occupation began.