American President George W. Bush called Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Wednesday night and offered him his best wishes before the Prime Minister publicly announced he would resign after the Kadima's leadership primaries in September. Gordon Johndroe, the president's spokesman, said that the two leaders would continue to work together until a replacement is named.
The Prime Minister's announcement came minutes before a trilateral meeting with American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiator Ahmed Qureia. The meeting continued as scheduled, and State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. "The Israelis will work out their inner politics.... We're going to keep moving forward."