Olmert told his Cabinet on Sunday that his meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have yielded no breakthroughs. Olmert said "there have been no agreements or deals."
The two have been sitting down every two weeks or so, and last week they appointed committees to draft an accord to take to the Middle East conference, expected to convene late next month in the US The teams are set to meet for the first time yesterday, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to return to the region later this week to assess progress.
While the international conference is designed to promote peacemaking, "it will in no way replace direct negotiations with the Palestinians," Olmert said.
Palestinian government spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh said Sunday that Israeli intentions are the key.
"If they are serious, we will definitely reach a political document that handles the final status issues with a timetable for the implementation and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state," he said.
But other Palestinian officials said a detailed agreement is no longer a condition for attending the conference -- a document that lists the issues but does not spell out Palestinian concessions would be acceptable.
Israel prefers a vague declaration of principles instead of a detailed document including its concessions.
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