On the eve of Sunday's summit between Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II, PA and Jordanian officials denied rumors according to which the kingdom is interested in a confederation with the Palestinians. The summit, which will be held in Ramallah, marks the monarch's first visit to the PA territories since 2000. "Rumors about a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation are completely untrue," said chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat. "We must not relate to these rumors at all. The Palestinians are working toward establishing an independent Palestinian state."
Erekat said the Abbas-Abdullah talks would focus on ways of reviving the Middle East peace process. "The Jordanian king has long been involved in efforts to revive the peace process and oblige Israel to [accept] the pre-1967 borders so that the Palestinians would be able to establish their won state with Jerusalem as its capital," he said. "The two leaders will discuss all possible ways to resume peace talks [with Israel] on the basis of United Nations resolutions, the road map and the Arab Peace Initiative."