Mideast Quartet calls for Israel Palestinian talks
- 14 years ago
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for direct talks to resume to try to reach a peace deal in the Middle East.
America's top diplomat has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahua and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to Washington for a September 2nd meeting.
"There have been difficulties in the past, there will be difficulties ahead. .. I ask the parties to persevere, to keep moving forward even through difficult times and to continue working to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region," Clinton said in a statement.
The talks would be aimed at creating a Palestinian state.
The Quartet - the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations - said in June that peace talks would be expected to conclude in 24 months, but the new draft says 12 months.
The Palestinian Authority government intends to have established all the attributes of statehood by mid-2011.
The peace process resumed in May after a hiatus of 19 months but stalled over the terms of an upgrade from indirect talks mediated by US envoy George Mitchell to direct negotiations.
Israel insists it is ready for direct talks provided there are no preconditions. The Palestinians are ready provided there is a clear agenda. Israel says an agenda means preconditions.