U.S. Envoy Fails to Lure Abbas Back to Talks
Associated Press
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy failed Friday to lure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas back to peace talks with Israel, as Mr. Abbas stuck to his insistence that an Israeli settlement freeze come first.
The three-hour meeting between Mr. Abbas and Washington's envoy, George Mitchell, came a day after Time magazine published an interview with Mr. Obama in which the president acknowledged he may have overestimated his ability to revive negotiations.
Mr. Mitchell, who also held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is to leave the region over the weekend. The envoy has said Mr. Obama remains committed to trying to broker a Mideast deal, but it's unclear what he could try next.
Mr. Abbas has said repeatedly he won't resume negotiations without a complete Israeli settlement freeze in the West Bank and east Jerusalem–areas claimed by the Palestinians for a future state. The Obama administration initially demanded such a freeze as well, but relented when Mr. Netanyahu resisted.
(More here.)
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy failed Friday to lure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas back to peace talks with Israel, as Mr. Abbas stuck to his insistence that an Israeli settlement freeze come first.
The three-hour meeting between Mr. Abbas and Washington's envoy, George Mitchell, came a day after Time magazine published an interview with Mr. Obama in which the president acknowledged he may have overestimated his ability to revive negotiations.
Mr. Mitchell, who also held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is to leave the region over the weekend. The envoy has said Mr. Obama remains committed to trying to broker a Mideast deal, but it's unclear what he could try next.
Mr. Abbas has said repeatedly he won't resume negotiations without a complete Israeli settlement freeze in the West Bank and east Jerusalem–areas claimed by the Palestinians for a future state. The Obama administration initially demanded such a freeze as well, but relented when Mr. Netanyahu resisted.
(More here.)
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