Bush Sees Sharon and Says Time Isn't Ripe for Peace Conference
With Israeli troops still surrounding Yasir Arafat's headquarters, President Bush met Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today and declared that the time was not ripe to call together a summit meeting on Mideast peace because "no one has confidence in the emerging Palestinian government."

Later today, White House officials, in what appeared to be an attempt to tone down Mr. Bush's comments, said he was not departing from his two-month-old policy of seeking simultaneous progress on improving security in Israel and a political solution for the Palestinians. "Don't over-interpret what the president indicated, because he talked about both during the meeting," said Mr. Bush's spokesman, Ari Fleischer.

Still, what was striking about Mr. Bush's comments today was how close he came to endorsing Mr. Sharon's position and saying the current Palestinian Authority, under Mr. Arafat, was not capable of engaging in the political talks that the administration has assured Arab leaders would be conducted simultaneously with security talks.

Mr. Bush did not attempt to dispute Mr. Sharon when the Israeli said: "We must have a partner for negotiations. We don't see yet a partner."

Asked by an Israeli reporter about the summit meeting of Israeli and Palestinian officials that the United States initially said would happen this summer, Mr. Bush said, "See, the conditions aren't even there yet."

Mr. Bush's comments came as Israeli tanks surrounded Mr. Arafat's compound in Ramallah, on the West Bank, and Israeli security forces arrested 27 Palestinians suspected of being militants. The president suggested that Mr. Arafat's reorganization of his Cabinet over the weekend did not solve the problem of finding a Palestinian partner. While emphasizing that "Mr. Arafat is not the issue," he said the real question was when the Palestinians would create institutions "necessary to give the Palestinian people hope and to give the Israelis confidence that the emerging government will be someone with whom they can deal."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/11/international/middleeast/11PREX.html