Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have reiterated their commitment to the peace plan, although Sharon failed to persuade Britain to isolate Yasser Arafat, the Downing Street said Tuesday.
Sharon met with Blair for a private dinner on Monday at Downing Street, for about two-and-a-half hours. "It was a very constructive meeting and the focus was on the Middle East 'road map' peace plan," a spokeswoman said.
They also discussed a range of regional and bilateral issues, she said, but declined to confirm if Blair had expressed Britain's concern over Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the continuing construction of a security fence separating Israel from Palestinian areas, and the issue of releasing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Sharon, who is expected to be in Norway on Wednesday, continued his British official visit by holding talks with Britain's opposition Conservative leader, Iain Duncan Smith, on Tuesday.
Aimed at mending strained ties between Israel and Britain, Sharon's visit was also publicly seen as a rapprochement with Blair, who is seen in Jerusalem as the friendliest "friend of Israel" in Europe, despite problems on the relationship over the past few months.
(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2003)
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