Front-running candidate Mahmoud Abbas called Thursday for peace talks with Israel after this weekend's Palestinian presidential election, a sharp contrast to days of hard-line campaign pronouncements that included his labeling Israel the "Zionist enemy." Abbas changed his tone in an unlikely place — the West Bank city of Nablus, a stronghold of militant groups and semiautonomous armed gangs that rule refugee camps and neighborhoods, and carry out bloody attacks on Israelis. At a news conference, Abbas said that after Sunday's election he would welcome peace talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon — vilified by many Palestinians because of harsh Israeli measures during the current conflict. "After the elections, we will start negotiations," Abbas said. "Ariel Sharon is an elected leader and we will negotiate with him. We will put the 'road map' on the table and say that we are ready to implement it completely." The internationally backed "road map," which envisions an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, was presented in June 2003. Implementation quickly stalled because Palestinians failed to disarm violent groups and Israel did not dismantle dozens of unauthorized West Bank outposts and freeze construction in veteran settlements.