Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that US Secretary of State Colin Powell had endorsed his proposal for a regional peace conference under US auspices during closed-door talks in Tel Aviv on this evening.
"We continued to examine ways to arrive at peace between Israel and her neighbours, and in the Middle East in general," Sharon said in a speech after meeting Powell.
"I said we are ready to have a regional conference in which a number of countries would participate - Israel, Egypt, the Saudis, Jordan, Morocco and Palestinian representatives. It doesn't have to be limited to these," Sharon said.
"The conference would be hosted by the United States. This idea is acceptable to the United States," added Sharon, who first made the proposal ahead of an Arab summit in Beirut last month and again in Israel's parliament.
There was no immediate US confirmation that Powell had endorsed the plan.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters the idea was a waste of time that was no substitute for an Arab peace plan adopted at the Beirut summit.
"If Sharon wants to talk about peace, he can accept the Arab peace initiative or agree to end the occupation and withdraw to the June 4th, 1967 lines," he said.