Israel Matzav

Abu Bluff calls Kerry a failure

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that U.S. attempts to forge an agreement on a framework for peace talks with Israel had so far failed but that the efforts are "extremely serious," AFP reported.

Speaking in Paris after talks this week with Secretary of State John Kerry, Abbas told journalists, "So far the Americans have not been able to put these ideas into a framework, even if the efforts are extremely serious."

After meeting with Abbas, French President Francois Hollande said he had underlined the need "to reach an agreed framework for negotiations in a timely manner," the news agency said.
Abbas met with Kerry twice in Paris this week in what a U.S. official on Thursday described as "constructive" talks.

Kerry has spent months trying to get the Israelis and the Palestinians to agree on a framework to guide talks towards a full peace treaty, but the negotiations have shown little sign of progress, with each side blaming the other.

A PA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Friday that ideas proposed by Kerry in Paris could not be accepted "as the basis for a framework accord... as they do not take into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people."

Labels: Abu Mazen, John Kerry, Middle East peace process

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:38 PM