Washington welcomes Quartet summit in Sharm el-Sheikh

In response to an initiative launched by President Mubarak, Sharm el-Sheikh will host next Tuesday a four way summit among President Mubarak, King Abdullah' II of Jordan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The White House has welcomed the summit due in Egypt, next Tuesday. The spokesman for the White House Scott McClellan described the agreement to convene the summit as an encouraging step towards peace in the Middle East. But he abstained to disclose whether the US intends to take part in the said summit.

Israeli and Palestinian official sources said that Sharon and Abbas accepted the invitation of the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to convene this summit. The announcement was made for the summit following the talks held between the director of the Egyptian intelligence lt. Gen. Omar Suleiman in Jerusalem with Sharon.

Reports say President Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would discuss ways of reactivating peace process on the Syrian track.

In Jerusalem, the office of the Israeli Prime Minister said in an official statement that the summit comes at an invitation from President Mubarak following the progress achieved by the security talks with the Palestinians.