Arafat receives Russian, US proposals to resume negotiations with Israel

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said on Monday that both Russia and the US had proposed initiatives to resume Israeli - Palestinian negotiations following yesterday's Israeli elections.

In a statement to the Egyptian daily al-Ahram issued on Monday Arafat said that the Russian proposal calls for convening a meeting for the countries which signed the Oslo agreement, while the US proposal calls for to convening a tripartite Palestinian - Israeli - American meeting.

Arafat added that the Palestinian Authority will study the Russian and US proposals following the Israeli elections.