Sharon official denies June meeting with Abbas

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office denied today that he would meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on June 7th.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office denied today that he would meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on June 7th.

"The prime minister's bureau is interested in setting up such a meeting but no such meeting has been set for that date or any other date," David Baker, an official in the office, told Reuters.

A senior Palestinian official had earlier told Reutersin the West Bank town of Ramallah that Abbas would meet with Sharon on June 7th, after the Palestinian leader returns from talks in Washington with US President George W Bush.