Sharon aide has high hopes for London conference

A top aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today expressed high hopes for a proposed Mideast conference in London, backing off Israel’s earlier misgivings about the event.

The conference, tentatively scheduled for February in London, “is maybe the most significant development in the near future”, said Dov Weisglass, Sharon’s top political adviser.

“It will be a meeting between Palestinians, a few European countries and a few American officials,” he said. ”It will entirely be focused on how the world can help the Palestinians prepare themselves for the new era.”

Weisglass said the conference is the initiative of Tony Blair, although British officials have released few details about the gathering.

In the past, Israel has generally been cool to participating in international Mideast conferences, fearing outside intervention in its conflict with the Palestinians.

Weisglass did not say whether Israel would participate in the London conference.