London to host Big Four conference on the Middle East

Russian, US, UN and European Union delegates are to negotiate in London July 2nd, discussing the Mideastern situation and coordinated policies making it possible to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This was disclosed here today by the US State Department's official spokesman Richard Boucher.

The United States is to be represented at this Big Four conference by Deputy State Secretary William Burns, with Andrei Vdovin, who serves as the Russian President's special envoy for the Mideastern peace process, representing Moscow.

Diplomatic sources in the US capital say that Big Four delegates will, among other things, examine a recent US initiative on establishing a Palestinian state without Yasser Arafat. This initiative was advanced by President George Bush Jr. of the United States not so long ago.