CAIRO, April 2, 2008 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas met on Wednesday in Cairo with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak and discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian territory.

During a press conference following the meeting, president Abbas said he dicussed with Mubarak the developments in the Middle East as well as the results of the recent Arab summit meting and his meeting with the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.

Regarding the Palestinian-Israeli talks, President Abbas said "So far the two sides aiming for a peace deal by the end of 2008 as targeted by Washington have only had "exchanges of ideas, a dialogue ... in depth," he added.

President Abbas also stressed that the contacts since the peace process was revived at a US-hosted conference in November had homed in on core issues and final-status points of dispute.

"We are now in a process of negotiations in which we are discussing key issues. We are tackling questions linked to the final status," President Abbas said.