Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Thursday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is willing to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Erekat made remarks at a joint press conference with visiting U. S. Senator John Kerry, who is a Democrat presidential candidate in 2004.

But he said that the meeting needs to be well prepared, adding that good progress has been made on the preparations.

Olmert has expressed several times his intention to sit with the Palestinian president. The two last met in Jordan in June, a few days before Palestinian militants captured the Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit in southeast Gaza Strip.

As for the international financial isolation on the Palestinians led by the U.S., the negotiator said that the economic sanctions run counter to Palestinian people's interests.

"The international community is asked to exert all efforts to ease the suffering of the people and lift embargo, especially in the fields on education and health," said Erekat.

He told the conference that most of the aid was channeled through non-governmental organizations for now, adding that the United States did not offer a single dollar directly to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) since 1994.

For his part, Kerry said that the Palestinian people can have statehood in six months, adding this was not an impossible thing.

"Though we support Israel and its right to exist in peace, but the Palestinians have this right too," Kerry said.

He also called for an end to the violence in the region.

Before his talks with Erekat, the U.S. senator also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Kerry arrived the Palestinian territories on Thursday after he wrapped up a visit in Syria, where he met with senior Syrian officials, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, over the Mideast peace process.

Source: Xinhua