Abbas vows to continue pursuing peace talks with Olmert

Occuppied Jerusalem: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has vowed to pursue peace talks with Ehud Olmert until the scandal-hit Israeli prime minister's last day in office, and with whoever succeeds him, an Israeli newspaper said on Friday.

But Abbas told the Haaretz daily he doubted the sides could meet Washington's expectations of reaching even a limited peace accord before US President George W. Bush leaves office in January.

"We will negotiate with any prime minister elected by Israel," Haaretz quoted Abbas as saying. "But I intend to negotiate with him (Olmert) until his last moment in office."

Olmert has also said he will pursue the US-brokered peace talks for as long as he remains in office, but his expected departure has cast doubt on the negotiations, launched at an Annapolis summit last November.

Abbas told the Israeli daily that "until now, there has been no achievement in negotiations between us." He added: "I doubt we will be able to seal an agreement by the end of 2008."