Palestinians committed to meeting, Abbas says

United Nations: President Mahmoud Abbas has said the Palestinian National Authority was fully committed to a planned US-hosted Middle East peace conference and he saw no obstacle to holding it.

"Today there is not the slightest obstacle to promoting the holding of a peace meeting, which will take place shortly," Abbas said in a speech to the UN General Assembly, referring to US plans to stage such a gathering in November.

"We are very committed to the substance of that meeting, as proposed," Abbas said. "We would hope all parties would sit down to negotiation."

Despite a recital of Palestinian hardships similar to that in past speeches, the Palestinian leader struck a generally upbeat note, saying a "historic horizon" was approaching for the Middle East peace process. US officials have indicated the conference, for which no invitations have been issued so far, would group Israel, the Palestinian National Authority, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Gaith said in his speech to the Assembly that the conference "may, if well prepared, provide an important opportunity to achieve long-awaited progress".

Abbas said after his speech that he believed the conference could pave the way for a subsequent peace agreement. "I think that it could be reached, yes," he told Reuters, declining to say how soon.

Earlier, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mousa called the conference proposal a "positive step" but said it was important it be "a serious conference, with all core issues on the table and the atmosphere conducive to understanding, with a timeline".

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas are likely to meet on Tuesday to prepare for the conference. "Nothing has been specified but it will be most probably on Tuesday," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat, who was unaware of the venue, told reporters.