Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday he was ready to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as soon as possible to resume long-stalled peace negotiations.
"I stand fully ready to meet the prime minister... without prior conditions and we are ready to begin immediately the preparations for this meeting," Abbas told reporters, a day after Olmert said he was also ready to resume talks immediately.
Negotiations have been almost completely on hold since Hamas, an Islamist militant group, came to power in the Palestinian territories in March, after defeating Abbas's more moderate Fatah movement in elections in January.
The kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Gaza militants, including members of Hamas, in late June further put efforts to resume talks on hold. The soldier, Gilad Shalit, is still being held, although there are indications he may be released soon.
Previously, Olmert had tied any move to sit down with Abbas to the release of the soldier.