Abbas expects ceasefire declaration at Cairo talks

GAZA CITY - Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas said Thursday that he expected militant factions to agree on a formal ceasefire at talks in Cairo next week.
"There are no radical differences and the Cairo dialogue should expect to crown efforts that are underway with the declaration of a (ceasefire) agreement," Abbas told a Gaza City news conference.
"I am going to take part in these talks to contribute to their success," he added.
Palestinian factions are to meet in Cairo next Tuesday for talks that had been delayed by a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last month.
The attack -- claimed by the radical Islamic Jihad faction -- cast a shadow over a truce declared by Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at a Middle East summit in Egypt in early February.
On Wednesday, Palestinian national security advisor Jibril Rajub declared that all militant factions were ready to stop attacks, although there was no official confirmation from the militant spokesmen.
Jihad and Hamas had distanced themselves from the truce declared in Egypt.

03/10/2005 12:23 GMT