Olmert: 'I will meet Abbas if he combats terror'

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Wednesday that he is prepared to meet Palestinian Authority Chairmen Mahmoud Abbas on condition that he combats terrorism. "I consider Mahmoud Abbas as a partner but he is not an independent leader. When the Palestinian Authority is being controlled by Hamas, political negotiations cannot take place," said Olmert in a meeting with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy. He also told the French foreign minister that Israel was prepared to transfer food and medicines to the PA but not money and wages.