Israel will not agree to hold an international summit on advancing the post-disengagement diplomatic process until after the first stage of the Road Map, an official close to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Sharon's plane en route to Paris.

French Foreign Ministry officials had talked in recent weeks about the possibility of hosting a Middle East summit. Such an event could have boosted France internationally following embarrassing defeats in the 2012 Olympics to London and a key referendum on the European Union constitution. British Prime Minister Tony Blair used a Middle East summit in March to help his re-election campaign.

But an official in Sharon's entourage said the prospects of such a summit would not be raised when the prime minister meets with French president Jacques Chirac on Wednesday because the French know that the idea would be rejected and they want the meeting to be considered a success.

"There will be no international summit until after the first stage of the road map is completed and no one knows when that will be – it could take 15 years," the official said...