RAMALLAH: A successful outcome to the US-brokered negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians would be like a “thunderbolt” for peace in the crisis-ridden Middle East, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said yesterday.
“Even if we speak of other neighbouring countries — the dramatic conflict in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt — the fact remains that the Israeli-Palestinian issue is one of the issues, perhaps the central one, for the region,” he said in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after meeting Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
“In a particularly troubled regional environment, it is even more important that we advance towards peace here,” Fabius said.
“If these negotiations are successful, it will be a thunderbolt for peace...a great stabilising element.”
“Our support is more necessary than ever,” he added. “This is the moment when we must make a breakthrough for peace.”
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators formally resumed direct peace talks earlier this month after a hiatus of nearly three years, thanks to an intense bout of shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
They are expected to last about nine months.
Speaking in Amman yesterday after talks with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said he expected the next round to take place “in a few days from now.”
“On all sides, particularly that of the United States, there are elements which are serious and encouraging regarding the success of the negotiations,” official Jordanian news agency Petra quoted him as saying.
Fabius arrived early yesterday on a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories aimed at encouraging the sides.
Speaking at a joint press conference with the visitor, Abbas said that his team entered the talks, about which no details have so far been revealed, in good faith.
“I should like to say that the Palestinians are negotiating with good intentions,” he said. “We want to negotiate in a positive spirit.”
AFP
