Speaker of the German parliament confers with Arafat

The speaker of the German Parliament (Bundestag) on Monday held talks in Berlin with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, currently visiting Germany.

Talks dealt with negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian self-rule authority.

Following the meeting Arafat did not talk to journalists, but the speaker of the German Parliament indicated that Arafat expressed his optimism over these negotiations.

Earlier in the day Arafat discussed the same topics with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.