WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is mapping plans for a Middle East peace conference next month in Turkey, a major step in a resurgent U.S. effort to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.
According to a well-placed U.S. official, the conference would be held among foreign ministers from the Middle East and Europe.
The peace conference would be geared to reopening negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians while also addressing the broader Arab-Israeli conflict.
President Bush's scheduled meetings this weekend with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and next Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon could accelerate planning.
They could clarify the next steps in promoting democratic change within the Palestinian Authority and new security arrangements in Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank and in Gaza.
Sharon has proposed that the U.S.-sponsored conference be at the level of foreign ministers to keep Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from attending. Sharon insists Arafat is not committed to making peace with Israel and thus is unworthy of attending the conference.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said he believes that Palestinian people expect Arafat to do more for them.
Powell said the 19-month-old uprising against the Israelis "hasn't brought them anything but grief." Now that Arafat has been freed from his Israeli-imposed detention, Powell said, "There is a burden on him to perform. Leaders perform. It's time for Mr. Arafat to reform."