RAMALLAH, West Bank, 31 March 2007 — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wants to start a dialogue with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries after the Riyadh summit endorsed the Arab peace initiative.

In interviews with several Israeli newspapers, Olmert said he would be happy to take part in a regional conference that would support direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

“A bloc of states is emerging that understands that they may have been wrong to think that Israel is the world’s greatest problem. That is a revolutionary change in outlook,” Olmert said. “There are interesting ideas there, and we are ready to hold discussions and hear from the Saudis about their approach and to tell them about ours,” he added. “We aren’t going overboard in this matter, but we are also not discounting it. We will act cautiously and wisely out of a willingness to create a dynamic that will improve and strengthen the process.”

Olmert said: “The Riyadh summit is certainly a serious matter. We do not delude ourselves — they want us to go back to the 1967 borders and they also want the right of return. We were not surprised; we understood it would be this way. The content is important, but it is also important to relate to the atmosphere, positioning and direction.”

The Israeli prime minister was quoted in one of the interviews as saying: “Saudi Arabia is the country that in the end will determine the ability of the Arabs to reach a compromise with Israel.”

Israel’s official response to the summit call to accept the Arab hand of peace, released in a statement by the Foreign Ministry in coordination with the Prime Minister’s Bureau, was lukewarm. It ignored the content of the Riyadh resolution and focused on the call by some Arab states to enter a dialogue with Israel.

“Israel believes in peace and seeks to establish peaceful and neighborly relations both with the Palestinian people and with all the states of the region,” the Foreign Ministry statement said. “Israel is sincerely interested in pursuing a dialogue with those Arab states that desire peace with Israel, this in order to promote a process of normalization and cooperation. Israel hopes that the Riyadh summit will contribute to this effort.”

On the issue of Palestinian refugees, Olmert said “there is absolutely no wriggle room on the refugee issue.” He reiterated that Israel would not accept the return to Israel of any refugees. It is “out of the question. I’ll never accept a solution that is based on their return to Israel, any number.”

The prime minister said that not only would Israel refuse to accept any refugees, it would also not recognize a “right of return.”

Deputy Premier Shimon Peres called on the Arab states “to sit together with Israel and reach an agreement, as we did with Egypt and Jordan.”

“Unilateral declarations, in which each side presents its positions, will not achieve anything,” Peres added.